New Westminster, B.C. — The final English-language leadership debate for the federal NDP turned into a debate about tempo as much as policy: should the party rebuild patiently, or race to prove it’s ready to govern? Five candidates trod familiar ground on affordability, labour ties, Indigenous reconciliation and climate action — but disagreed sharply on which fixes should come first.
A question at the end made the divide explicit: four contenders said their priority was to methodically rebuild the party’s foundations; Ontario organic farmer Tony McQuail stood alone in saying his campaign’s goal is to govern now. That split framed much of the evening’s sparring.
Big-picture visions clashed with calls for quick relief. Documentarian Avi Lewis argued the scale of the affordability crisis demands structural solutions, not band-aids. He proposed public options in groceries, telecommunications and banking to reshape market incentives and deliver durable relief, and pointed to recent fundraising and membership gains as proof that bold, systemic ideas energize supporters.
Rob Ashton, a dockworker union leader, pushed back. He appealed to the NDP’s working-class roots and cautioned that building Crown-run services is a long game. Voters, Ashton said, need policies that ease pain now. He also criticized Lewis’s association with the Leap Manifesto, blaming the document for political fallout in some provincial settings.
The Leap Manifesto resurfaced as a real fault line. Ashton blamed its rollout for weakening provincial NDP allies; Lewis defended it as a party resolution from 2016, not something imposed on provinces. Other candidates urged caution — visible internal fights, they warned, make it harder to sell a united, winning campaign.
Candidates also sketched different regional playbooks. Some favoured sweeping reforms aimed at changing market structures over time; others pushed targeted, fast-acting measures to lower household costs immediately. Everyone, though, framed their strategies around the same practical goal: win swing ridings while shoring up traditional strongholds.
On campaign mechanics, teams emphasized operational discipline: clearer local messaging, rapid-response policy briefings, coordinated volunteer shifts and a steady schedule of community visits. Tactics mentioned included short regional one-pagers, constituency listening sessions, and communications plans to counter narratives of disunity. Metrics to watch: event turnout, volunteer growth and movement in key polls.
Heather McPherson, the Alberta MP, urged translating values into recoverable seats. Pointing to her own record defeating Conservative opponents, she singled out Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver and southern Ontario as places ripe for focused ground games: recruiting volunteers, knocking on doors and tailoring messages to local concerns.
Tanille Johnston, a social worker and the first Indigenous candidate on a major federal leadership ballot, emphasised grassroots presence in communities where the NDP currently has no foothold. She called for a federal universal basic income to reduce poverty, an end to fossil fuel subsidies, and renewed government-to-government relations with Indigenous nations — arguing that sustained, respectful community engagement turns policy into votes.
The debate closed with a clear choice for members: steady, foundational rebuilding or an assertive push to win power now. Both paths were laid out with concrete tactics and competing philosophies; the coming weeks will show which message resonates where and whether the party can unify behind a strategy that both inspires activists and persuades swing voters.