In one sense, the rank-and-file NDP are like the true-blue conservatives. They believe what they believe with passionate intensity, and if it comes right down to it, would rather be right than form a government.Well, they got their man. Newly elected NDP leader Avi Lewis is a socialist out of central casting. Unlike Jagmeet Singh, he who liked his Rolexes and the odd borrowed Maserati and could find the vestigial socialism in any deal that might extend his leadership for a few months more, Mr. Lewis’ recent published statements give every impression that he would rather slit his wrists than help Prime Minister Carney stay in power another day..UCP blasts Nenshi’s ties to anti-pipeline NDP leader Avi Lewis after convention .Whatever New York Mayor Zohran Mamdami is drinking, Lewis has a case of it in his solar-powered wine cooler..Here is a sampler from his leadership campaign, his victory speech, and remarks offered during the happy moments that followed his victory announcements.1. Tackling inequality – “It is time, far past time, to properly tax the corporations and billionaires that have been riding a tidal wave of profits while the 99 per cent have been suffering and struggling... This country is awash in wealth. We can have nice things... The money is there. We need a government with the courage to go and get it for all of us." He tied this directly to funding his agenda, including a wealth tax on the top 1%.2. Death to oil – "We can't keep increasing fossil fuel production." His platform called for "powerlines, not pipelines." Mr. Lewis will not support new pipelines or LNG terminals, he will support an export tax on oil and gas to the U.S., and tax windfall profits on fossil fuel companies. He promises a Green New Deal investing 2% of GDP to create one million climate jobs (via renewables, transit, heat pumps, solar, and an East-West-North clean energy grid built with Canadian materials.).'THEY'RE PRETTY COMMUNIST': Smith warns Avi Lewis-led NDP threatens Alberta oil and gas.3. Trump-proofing the Canadian economy – “Our plan is to Trump-proof the economy by investing massively in Canadian economic independence using the unmatched power of public ownership to ensure the fundamentals of a good life. A network of public providers for food, phones, and the internet. A public housing developer and public construction companies to build millions of non-market homes." This was the signature "anti-capitalist" element of his platform..4. “Homes for the many, not the money” – To solve the housing crisis, Mr. Lewis proposes a national rent cap and building a million public homes. There would be tenant protection, homelessness would be ended, and for indigenous people, a "For Indigenous, By Indigenous" housing strategy.5. Protect workers from Artificial Intelligence: Lewis made AI a major campaign target, calling for a moratorium on new AI data centres and broader regulations. In his "Dignified Work in a Digital Age" platform section, he stressed “real” solutions for digital-era challenges, including saving jobs, democratizing workplaces, and defending workers' rights against AI-driven threats like data theft, job displacement, and environmental harm..Nenshi distances Alberta NDP from 'eco-socialist' Lewis after federal leadership upset .These statements were front-and-centre in his campaign materials, victory speech, and first press conference. Lewis presented them as non-negotiable elements of building an NDP that serves "the 99%" through collective action, public power, and climate justice, while openly acknowledging (and welcoming debate on) tensions with some provincial NDP wings, particularly over energy. (He’ll have his fill of that; Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi couldn’t wait to drop him.).What does this mean for Prime Minister Carney and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre?Keep in mind that all of my accumulated winnings over 50 years of betting on dog races, and $5 borrowed from my wife, would get me a cup of coffee.But here’s a few numbers. Looking at the last five elections, the NDP ought to be able to count on about 3 million votes. When they get a charismatic leader, as they did with Jack Layton in 2011, they can make that 4 million-plus. Mr. Singh, on the other hand, managed just 1.2 million. So two million NDP voters stayed home, or voted for the Liberals..And that, he accomplished all by himself. His party rejected everything he stood for, partially the hypocrisy of ostentatious display but more importantly his abject surrender of principle for no gain.Well, Mr. Lewis won’t make that mistake. Even those of us who don’t care for what he stands for, can see plainly that he believes in his own outdated socialist ideals. And there are somewhere around three million Canadian socialists out there who ‘want to believe.’ Keep in mind, there is nothing transactional about a real socialist; if you’re out to steal your neighbour’s cow, you don’t compromise and leave the hooves and the horns, you want the whole thing. And that’s the Lewis message of compassion.So, how much difference would it make in a general election if two million NDP purists return to the fold, as the shepherd calls? Some. Maybe not as many as Conservative optimists hope – maybe just a few marginal seats in Ontario – but with Mr. Carney’s majority balanced on a knife edge, how big a chance does he want to take?.For, the cocktail party theory is that Mr. Carney might do the old Liberal trick of trying to catch the opposition flat-footed by calling an election as soon as it has a new leader and before it can organize. Polls show the Conservatives down, and the hard stuff all ahead… let’s get a majority while we can…I could be proved wrong by the end of the week. But I suspect Mr. Carney will cherish the slender (one seat) majority that he expects to have after the byelections in April. It’s hard work, but with that he can govern.Socialists don’t understand basics. So if New York can elect Mamdami, one should never assume Canadians are too intelligent to come back to the decimated NDP left behind by Mr. Singh, and give it a voice Mr. Carney can’t ignore and perversely – from their point of view – do the Conservatives a bit of good, too.
