NDP leadership candidates debate party's future, relations with provincial wings

little phoebe NDP leaders candidates pitched their ideas for how to reconstruct their company during what was a fair agreeable final debate — but some points of contention appeared around relations with provincial wings.

Whoever takes reins will face the difficult task of rebuilding the party after the spring election, where the NDP saw only seven members elected to the House of Commons.

A majority of the candidates were blunt in their assessment of where the party is at when asked if they were running to be prime minister or to rebuild the party.

Four of the contestants — Alberta MP Heather McPherson, activist and filmmaker Avi Lewis, union leader Rob Ashton and social worker Tanille Johnston — said they were focused on rebuilding the party. Only farmer Tony McQuail said he would focus his efforts on becoming prime minister.

Throughout the roughly 90-minute debate on Thursday, the candidates often agreed with each other on a number of policies, including electoral reform, workers' rights and climate change.

Are NDP leadership candidates running to rebuild their party, or to be prime minister?

The spiciest moment during the event came around a discussion about how the federal NDP can work with its provincial branches.

Ashton suggested that Lewis "destroyed" the reelection chances for the Alberta NDP government under former premier Rachel Notley by fronting the Leap Manifesto to the federal party — a policy document that proposed to shift Canada to renewable energy by 2050.

The union leader said he was glad to learn that Lewis was engaging with Nenshi after the latter said earlier in the debate that he's had good conversations with the Alberta NDP leader.

"I'm glad to see that he knows that he's got to talk to the provinces and have a good relationship with them," Ashton said. "I'm really happy to see that he's grown and become a stronger New Democrat."

Lewis shot back that Ashton's criticism was "heavy."

 "I'm the same New Democrat I've always been," Lewis said in response to Ashton's criticism.

Lewis, whose platform promises a "new green deal" and to get Canada off fossil fuels, was one of three candidates — as well as Ashton and McPherson — who have spoken with Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi in recent weeks. 

Nenshi — who is aiming to unseat the governing United Conservative Party — characterized the conversations with the three candidates as "blunt," saying the party can't "get caught up in ideological battles."

Lewis said during the debate that he may disagree with Nenshi on fossil fuels, but that they agree in other areas.

"Naheed Nenshi needs to be the next premier of Alberta," Lewis said.

McPherson, the only NDP MP from Alberta, said the provincial and federal wings need to focus more on what unites them than divides them. 

She pointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney's memorandum of understanding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on a potential oil pipeline to the B.C. Coast as something that's dividing the party and the country. That proposal is facing some resistance in B.C. Which is governed by the provincial NDP.

"I can tell you what doesn't help — an MOU by Mark Carney and Danielle Smith that pits British Columbians against Albertans, that pits people against each other during a national sovereignty crisis," she said.

"What we need to do is work on those things that as New Democrats that we believe in, those values that will move us forward and not be a burden to the provincial parties."

Former leader Jagmeet Singh announced he would be stepping down on election night after he failed to hold his own seat. Vancouver MP Don Davies has been serving as interim leader since May.

New Democrats will elect a new leader at their party convention at the end of March.

Senior writer

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