Filmmaker and journalist Avi Lewis is set to officially launch his bid for the federal NDP leadership, bringing a familiar name back into the spotlight of Canadian politics.
Lewis is expected to release a campaign video today and follow it up with a formal launch event in Toronto next week. The announcement marks his first attempt at party leadership after unsuccessful runs as an NDP candidate in two Vancouver-area ridings during the 2021 and 2025 federal elections.
Politics runs deep in Lewis’s family — his grandfather David Lewis was a founding member and former leader of the federal NDP, while his father Stephen Lewis served as Ontario NDP leader. Avi Lewis is also well known as a co-author of the 2015 Leap Manifesto, a bold policy blueprint calling for Canada to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels.
The race comes after Jagmeet Singh stepped down as leader following the NDP’s disappointing result in April, where the party was reduced to just seven seats. Veteran B.C. MP Don Davies is currently holding the role of interim leader as the party looks to rebuild.