By The Canadian Press

Avi Lewis launches NDP leadership bid as Heather McPherson prepares campaign

Sep 19, 2025 | 7:01 AM

OTTAWA — Filmmaker and journalist Avi Lewis officially announced he is running for the NDP leadership in a video shared on social media Friday morning.

Alberta NDP MP Heather McPherson is now listed as a registered leadership candidate with Elections Canada. She has not yet officially announced her intention to run and her spokesperson declined an interview request.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Lewis said that Canada is at an “epic, historic” turning point due to economic upheaval driven by the U.S. tariff threat. He said he sees a way for the NDP to present alternatives and regain its footing in a time of “massive change.”

“The two old parties are marching in lockstep, as they have so many times before. And so, yes, we are at an electoral low point, obviously,” Lewis said. “Right now, Canadians are way better off if there is a party that has a totally different diagnosis and a totally different bunch of solutions to the crisis that we’re in.”

Lewis talks about the high cost of living in his video, linking high cell and food costs to a small number of companies owning most telecommunication firms and grocery chains.

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“We need the government to step in and actually solve those problems. So when it comes to food, we’re calling for a public option for food and groceries. When it comes telecommunications, we’re going for a public option for phone data (and) internet,” he said.

Lewis also blames the spread of wildfires on successive Liberal and Conservative governments failing to limit emissions from fossil fuels.

“There’s been a succession of gob-smacking retreats on every fundamental plank of the government’s climate approach, as if this crisis is not choking the air every summer and actually affecting the lives of Canadians and costing tens of billions of dollars every single year,” he said.

“It’s shocking the way (Prime Minister Mark Carney) has thrown climate under the bus.”

McPherson has represented the riding of Edmonton Strathcona since 2019. The NDP has held that riding since 2008.

As the party’s foreign affairs critic, McPherson has pressed the government over its response to the war in Gaza and its plans for recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Since the NDP was reduced to just seven seats in the spring federal election, McPherson has been travelling the country and speaking with New Democrats about how the party can rebuild.

Lewis said he’s heard party members tell him that too much power has been concentrated in the leader’s office, alienating organizers at the riding level.

“The culture of grassroots organizing was always the NDP’s special sauce and I think people are eager to get back to that,” he said.

Lewis ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the NDP in the 2021 and 2025 elections in two Vancouver-area ridings.

When asked how he plans to convince New Democrats he can lead the party out of the wilderness without a winning record of his own, Lewis said Jack Layton became party leader in 2003 before winning a federal seat and ultimately led the party to Official Opposition status in 2011.

His grandfather David Lewis was a founding member and former leader of the federal NDP, while his father Stephen Lewis led the Ontario NDP.

Lewis is one of the co-authors of the Leap Manifesto, a 2015 document that outlined 15 policy points aimed at steering Canada away from fossil fuels.

Other potential candidates for the leadership include Manitoba NDP MP Leah Gazan, who said Wednesday she’s received “a lot of pressure” from across Canada to run and is still considering her options.

Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, recently launched a website to gauge support for a possible run at the leadership.

Political activist Yves Engler also has announced his intention to run for the NDP leadership.

Candidates need to raise $100,000 to appear on the ballot. They also must gather 500 signatures from across the country that meet conditions set by the party for regional and demographic representation.

Candidates must submit the final of four financial deposits by Jan. 31, 2026 to appear on the ballot for the March 29, 2026 convention in Winnipeg.

Jagmeet Singh resigned as leader after losing his own Vancouver-area seat in the April election. B.C. NDP MP Don Davies is currently serving as interim leader.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press