Avi Lewis stands by past activism as he's criticized for 'politics of subtraction'

In the closure years of the NDP leaders rush, Avi Lewis's past times activism has resurfaced. But the front-runner's campaign is standing by his past work and a decade-old vision that's been both criticized within the New Democrats' ranks and weaponized by their opponents.

Lewis's campaign is deflecting criticism after an old video resurfaced this week of the leadership hopeful and his wife seemingly poking fun at the Alberta NDP.

Critics of Lewis argue he helped contribute to the demise of Rachel Notley's government when he crashed the 2016 federal New Democrat convention with a controversial policy paper: the Leap Manifesto.

Lewis's campaign spokesperson Donya Ziaee accuses other campaigns of "manufacturing division" and "dredging up old debates."

"This political moment is an opportunity for the NDP to seize the mantle of bold climate leadership," she wrote in a statement.

Lewis declined an interview request for this story.

Although Lewis's dad and grandfather were provincial and federal NDP leaders, he burst on to the New Democrat political scene when he urged the party to adopt the Leap Manifesto. 

The manifesto's central view was that the world is in a climate crisis and burning fossil fuels is making it worse. It urged a complete transition away from fossil fuels and an adoption of renewable power sources.

"There is no longer an excuse for building new infrastructure projects that lock us into increased extraction decades into the future," the document stated.

It also called for expanding public transit, high-speed rail and social programs like national child care — issues now embraced by the federal Liberals.

The manifesto was supported by some within the NDP but never officially adopted by the party.

Lewis has stood behind that vision during this leadership race.

Still, those policies are being used by Lewis's opponents to encourage the NDP membership not to vote for him.  

Among those prominent voices is Shannon Phillips. The former Alberta NDP environment minister has publicly urged New Democrats to instead support the sole Albertan in the race — Heather McPherson.

"Avi Lewis tends to take an approach of a politics of subtraction," Phillips said.

"He doesn't mind writing off Alberta New Democrats. He doesn't mind, apparently, not just writing us off, but insulting us in highly personalized terms, making fun of us even."

She suggested that Lewis's activism may have been the reason the Alberta NDP was a one-term government, something she recently accused him and his wife of "delighting in."

That criticism comes from a video published in September 2020 where Lewis and his wife, author Naomi Klein, are reading "mean" messages they received.

At one point, the two are seen laughing while Klein points out that Shannon is no longer environment minister.

Phillips has said Lewis's politics, including his stance on oil and gas, will inevitably hurt the provincial NDP, particularly in the west.

Phillips recently suggested on a podcast she is "one of the surrogates" for McPherson delivering lines of attack against Lewis that McPherson herself hasn't. 

"Heather has been a little bit more muted on those criticisms because I think she wants to keep the tent together and that is the strategic choice she has made," Phillips said. 

But she added that McPherson needs to be "sowing seeds of doubt" about Lewis to undecided voters, which could help win her support.

Rob Ashton, another leadership contender, has also taken issue with Lewis's approach to provincial NDP leaders — saying in the past that Lewis "takes us in the wrong direction."

NDP leadership hopeful Avi Lewis sees 'a different kind of politics' for his party

The NDP often faces an internal battle of where to land on the progressive political spectrum, according to David McGrane, a political scientist at the University of Saskatchewan, NDP member and author of The New NDP: Moderation, Modernization and Political Marketing.

"The leadership races in the NDP frequently revolve around questions of how radical the party should be … and how much it should try to grow and maybe move to the centre," McGrane said.

And as the party grapples with that question once again, bitterness from the aftermath of the Leap Manifesto still lingers, he said, particularly when one of its architects is now running to be leader.

In 2015, the NDP went into its party convention soul-searching after losing Jack Layton's historic Opposition status in the House of Commons as the popularity of Justin Trudeau's progressive Liberal brand surged.

A group of activists, mainly centred in Toronto, including Lewis, brought forward the Leap Manifesto, McGrane said.

"Being in that room in Edmonton, seeing it, it was really emotional, as a snub to the Albertan New Democrats and Saskatchewan New Democrats that were gathered there," he said.

"It's like, 'You want to leave oil in the ground? That's the main part of our economy.'"

NDP leadership hopefuls hold final debate before members vote

Critics of the manifesto within the NDP didn't just see it as a snub to provincial NDP parties — but as ammunition for conservatives.

"Conservative politicians start to use it as a club to beat provincial NDPers over the head with … saying, 'look how radical these provincial NDPers are. Look what their federal cousins are saying and how they're undermining economic growth," he said.

In many ways, the battle over the Leap Manifesto is now encapsulated in this race, with Lewis standing behind the vision he outlined a decade ago.

The question is whether the NDP membership will stand behind it, too.

Voting in the leadership race is underway, with the party set to announce its next leader at its convention in Winnipeg at the end of the month.

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