Avi Lewis on defensive as federal NDP leadership hopefuls square off in English-language debate
The five contenders to lead the NDP squared off in New Westminster, B.C. on Thursday evening for the second of two official leadership debates.
The B.C. debate, held mostly in English, was noticeably more combative than November’s French debate in Montreal , with candidates jockeying for position ahead of the start of voting on Mar. 9. As expected, perceived frontrunner Avi Lewis took the brunt of the attacks, which he shrugged off as “dim sparks” in his closing statement.
Edmonton MP Heather McPherson and union leader Rob Ashton also looked to break through in what’s widely considered a three-way race . Joining them on stage were social worker Tanille Johnston, the first Indigenous woman to run for the leader of any major federal party, and organic farmer Tony McQuail.
Here are five of the key moments from the last official debate before the party’s next leader is announced on Mar. 29:
Lewis attacked over Leap Manifesto
The evening’s water-cooler moment came when Ashton raised Lewis’s controversial role in championing the anti-fossil fuel Leap Manifesto at the NDP’s 2016 national convention in Edmonton, a gesture that incensed the host Alberta wing and nearly sparked a civil war within the party. Then Alberta premier Rachel Notley, the province’s first (and thus far only) NDP premier was left especially embarrassed by the affair.
“About a decade … ago, something was dropped from the federal NDP that absolutely destroyed the Alberta NDP’s chance, ever again, for being re-elected,” said Ashton, in a clear reference to the Leap Manifesto controversy.
Lewis scoffed at the remark and was quick to fire back, claiming he and others behind the manifesto gave the Edmonton convention organizers a heads-up that they’d be putting it forward for discussion.
The 2016 Leap Manifesto debacle has left lasting scars with some in the Alberta NDP. Shannon Phillips, who was Alberta’s environment minister at the time, called the Leap Manifesto an “ exercise in privileged political vanity” and “piece of self-indulgent posturing” in a recent blog post.
Poilievre ‘slick as snot’
Ashton also had the evening’s most memorable line, coming at the expense of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. When asked by moderator Hannah Thibedeau to account for career politician Poilievre’s recent gains among blue-collar voters, Ashton responded, “Poilievre’s pretty slick as snot.” The reply left Thibedeau audibly flabbergasted.
Ashton added that Poilievre was “about as much a worker as I am a flower girl.”
Rebuilding trumps winning
The candidates were, by and large, clear-eyed about the party’s current state and long road back to getting within striking distance of government. When asked in a lightning round if their goal was to “rebuild” or “become prime minister,” four of the five candidates said rebuild. Only McQuail indicated that he was in the race to become Canada’s next prime minister.
‘Violent agreement’ on electoral reform
All five candidates said they favoured changing Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system, with Lewis trotting out 2012 NDP leadership candidate Nathan Cullen’s old “violent agreement” line to characterize the consensus. Johnston pointed out that, under the current system, the NDP got roughly the same number of votes as the Bloc Québécois in last year’s election but ended up with 15 fewer seats. McQuail said that the party should relentlessly attack the Liberals for their broken 2015 promise on electoral reform in the next campaign.
Katimavik experience key to winning back Quebec
McQuail had a memorable moment in a debate segment on how the NDP regain lost ground in Quebec, particularly among francophone voters. He admitted that, now being well into his 70s, he was unlikely to fully master French but pointed to his volunteer work with youth service group Katimavik as a key to reconciling the two solitudes.
“When we had Katimavik billets, I got on really well with the francophone billets who were working class, as opposed to the anglophones who came from Rosemont in Toronto.”
McQuail wouldn’t be the first federal leader to have worked with Katimavik. Justin Trudeau, whose father Pierre Trudeau started Katimavik in 1977, was the organization’s chair between 2002 and 2006.
National Post
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