Avi Lewis won the NDP leadership race on the first ballot on Sunday, with Heather McPherson a distant second, and surprisingly, Tanille Johnson came in third and Rob Ashton fourth. Of course, there was chatter over social media that there were Palestinian flags on the stage when this happened by no Canadian flags, so make of that what you will. While there is a lot of talk about how “radical” Lewis’ ideas are, most of them are within the mainstream of the party, though they still suffer from some of the same problems of feasibility and inability to distinguish between federal and provincial roles, so we’ll see how that starts to play itself out.
Congratulations to Avi Lewis on your election as NDP leader.As Prime Minister I will always take a collaborative approach to how we build a stronger Canada, and I look forward to speaking about how we can work together to keep delivering for Canadians.
— Mark Carney (@mark-carney.bsky.social) 2026-03-29T16:29:29.516Z
Thank you to Don Davies for your service as Interim Leader of the NDP over this past year, and for your work to create new opportunities together for Canadian workers.
— Mark Carney (@mark-carney.bsky.social) 2026-03-29T16:29:29.517Z
Poilievre's congratulations to Avi Lewis.
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-03-29T20:51:23.374Z
Almost immediately, there was reaction from the two prairie provincial wings of the party, as Naheed Nenshi and Carla Beck immediately sought to distance themselves from Lewis, just as Danielle Smith and Scott Moe immediately pounced to insist that you’re the same party, and that we’re going to tar you with the same brush. Because that’s helpful. Even Wab Kinew, who spoke at the convention, is putting some distance between himself and Lewis, so this could be very interesting moving forward.
Alberta NDP Leader @naheednenshi.bsky.social immediately distances his party from the federal party. This statement just out, minutes after @avilewis.ca becomes federal NDP leader. #cdnpoli
— davidakin (@davidakin.bsky.social) 2026-03-29T15:30:29.000Z
And on top of that, the calls from within the party to start the purge of the disloyal, citing that Jeremy Corbyn didn’t do it effectively enough with Labour in the UK. Because that’s totally how you build a movement that can attract votes.
Ukraine Dispatch
Russian attacks early Saturday his port infrastructure in Odesa, as well as a maternity hospital. Early Sunday, a strike on Kramatorsk killed three and injured at least thirteen. Ukraine is closing in on several agreements with Gulf states about protection from Iranian drones, with Zelenskyy currently in Jordan.
Good reads:
- Mark Carney was at the JUNO Awards in Hamilton to give a lifetime achievement award to Joni Mitchell; Mitchell called Carney “a blessing.”
- Here is a look at Carney’s Question Period attendance in his first year in office, and it’s pretty dismal.
- The CEO of SAAB says that there are still “intensive” talks happening about the potential to supply Gripen fighter jets to Canada.
- Here is a look at the complexities of what a transition to a new government might look like in Cuba.
- Danielle Smith claims she welcomes diverse opinions in her caucus as her parliamentary secretary shills for separation. (Does Peter Guthrie know?)
- Kevin Carmichael contemplates what it might actually take to be an actual energy superpower, which no government has yet managed.
- Shannon Proudfoot remarks on the way in which Carney seems to have decided that he is going to just find workarounds for the civil service whenever possible.
- Althia Raj surveys the landscape of the NDP now that Lewis has won, and why he’s going to have a challenge with party unity.
- My weekend column takes a look at the new elections bill and some of the proposed changes therein, some of which will help to thwart the Longest Ballot losers.
Odds and ends:
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