Former MP Julian says NDP has ‘lost touch’ with grassroots, looks to rebuild as leadership race takes shape
Former NDP MPs Matthew Green and Peter Julian are taking a stab at rebuilding the New Democratic Party with the launch of a new project to connect with party members across the county as candidates begin to officially launch their leadership bids.
“I think the election results are the proven point that we have lost touch,” Julian told reporters in a Sept. 25 press conference in Ottawa.
In the April 28 federal election, the NDP won only seven seats in the House of Commons, with its popular vote cratering to 6.3 per cent compared to the 17.8 per cent it achieved in the 2021 election with 25 seats.
“We’ll be spending … time over the next six months working with the membership to regalvinize the party, so coming out of leadership—coming out of next March—we are a force to be reckoned with across the country,” said Julian, a one-time leadership candidate who represented New Westminster—Burnaby, B.C., for a decade.
The new initiative called NDP Renewal, which launched on Sept. 25, seeks to connect with former and current New Democrats for input and discussion of the party after a devastating election defeat reduced the NDP caucus to the lowest seat count in its history.
The result dropped the party below the threshold for recognized party status in the House of Commons, which means the seven New Democrat MPs left cannot sit on committees, have significantly reduced allotted questions in Question Period, and have fewer financial resources at their disposal.
The volunteer-run NDP Renewal is doing this, in part, through an online survey. The process will take place over six months, with a proposal based on the outcome set to be presented at the party’s convention in Winnipeg, Man., in March 2026, where the party will select its next leader.
NDP Renewal is not the first to raise issues with the party’s grassroots engagement. The group Reclaim Canada’s NDP has been pushing for supporters to divert their donations from the central party to local riding associations in an effort to let upper management know that it’s out of touch with its working-class and grassroots foundations. In a Sept. 25 press release, the group said it “stands with” the Renewal project.
The Sept. 25 announcement comes just one day after journalist and filmmaker Avi Lewis officially launched his leadership campaign in Toronto, Ont. Lewis is currently the only candidate who has been approved by the NDP in its leadership race.
At his launch event, Lewis pitched himself to everyday Canadians struggling to make ends meet in the current economy.
“If we’re going to go to war, let’s do it against the actual enemy that we all face—and that is the everyday emergency of just trying to get by in an impossibly unfair economy,” Lewis told his supporters.
“That’s the real crisis that grips Canadians. That’s what begs for wartime-level response.”
Lewis comes from an orange-blooded family of political leaders. His father, Stephen Lewis, led the party’s provincial caucus in Ontario from 1970 to 1978, and his grandfather, David Lewis, was one the founding members of the federal NDP, leading the party from 1971 to 1975.
NDP MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, Alta.) is also said to be on the verge of throwing her hat into the ring. The three-time MP is expected to officially launch her bid over the weekend, and has registered with Elections Canada.
Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, is also registered with Elections Canada, and a website is live collecting support, though Ashton has not officially announced his campaign.
Activist Yves Engler, nominated by the NDP Socialist Caucus, has also declared his intention to run, as has Ontario farmer Tony McQuail, who is proposing unifying the Green Party with the NDP, but neither are currently registered with Elections Canada.
Julian emphasized the NDP Renewal initiative is “agnostic” on the party’s leadership race.
“What we want to do is give that voice to the grassroots across the country, to members, to former members, and to Canadians, to help work together to rebuild the NDP,” he said.
Green, who has long bowed out of entering the race himself, said that the party’s revival “cannot rest on the shoulders of one person alone,” and, when asked by a reporter, ruled out making any candidate endorsements.
“I truly believe that we are at our best as a grassroots party that is membership-driven, membership-focused, that takes that collective approach,” he said, adding he was “excited” about the “quality” candidates emerging.
Still, he added that “hopefully” it’s “such an exciting leadership race that there’s a membership revitalization, spark and renewal.”
Julian said the NDP has faced rebuilding efforts in the past, pointing to the party’s 1993 electoral outcome when it was reduced to nine seats, and also lost its recognized status in the House.
Julian said the party had gone “over the cliff,” but it was through reaching out to its grassroots membership that the party was able to rebuild and come back stronger.
“We’re asking New Democrats to get involved and to ensure that we can move forward at the riding association level, at the national level, to ensure that this party is strong and vibrant in the next campaign.”
He added that he’s heard from people who voted Liberal last election feeling “voter’s remorse.”
ewand@hilltimes.com
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