Vancouver activist Avi Lewis is the odds-on favourite to lead the New Democrats, according to wagering on the crypto betting platform Polymarket, where more than $45,000 in bets have been placed — a record volume by Canadian standards.Blacklock's Reporter says Lewis, who finished third in Vancouver Centre in the 2025 federal election, trailing Liberal MP Hedy Fry by 23,048 votes, has secured endorsements from four current and former New Democrat MPs: Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre), Alex Atamanenko (Southern Interior, B.C.), Libby Davies (Vancouver East) and Svend Robinson (Burnaby-Douglas, B.C.).Polymarket bettors have given Lewis a 9 out of 10 chance of winning the March 29 leadership vote. His closest rival, MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton-Strathcona), the only sitting MP in the race, is seen with an 11% chance of victory. McPherson counts former premiers Rachel Notley of Alberta and Mike Harcourt of British Columbia, along with 11 former MPs, among her endorsements.The leadership race comes after a disastrous 2025 election for the New Democrats, which saw the party reduced to seven seats in the House of Commons — its worst result since 1935. A December 21 report from the party acknowledged internal failings..“The campaign exposed a growing operational, political and cultural distance between the Party and working people,” the Review And Renewal Report: Campaign 2025 stated. “Labour leaders uniformly described a widening gap between the Party and working class Canadians. The Party is not seen as leading with work, wages, jobs, industry and economic security, the issues workers vote on.”Former and current caucus members have disputed the findings, but the perception remains, the report said. Party language, the review noted, often comes across as “exclusionary, academic or moralizing.”Leader Don Davies, speaking on an August 28 podcast, argued the party’s struggles stretch beyond a single campaign. “We’ve been in a secular slide since 2011 if we’re honest,” said Davies. “What is it about us where we were unable to resonate, unable to connect, with working people? One of the questions is, have we veered too much from our class-based analysis to identity politics?”Davies highlighted that many voters care most about everyday concerns like paying rent, buying a home, or affording groceries, rather than social issues.
