#ndpldr - Post-Campaign Roundup

A collection of writings on the leadership campaign that elected Avi Lewis (including a few predating his election).

- Isaac Phan Nay reports on Lewis' win and the signature promises that helped him achieve it. Michael Harris examines the prospect that Lewis can held guide the NDP out of the political wilderness. And Jeet Heer takes a look at the state of the wider left, while Eleanor Wand and Marlo Glass talk to party loyalists about the opportunities open to the NDP under its new leadership.. 

- Meanwhile, Markham Hislop rightly notes that Canada as a whole needs the NDP to succeed due to the grim state of our other political choices.

- David Climenhaga calls out the provincial NDP leaders who chose a moment of celebration and solidarity to try to fragment the progressive movement. And Tammy Robert is duly scathing about Carla Beck's response to Lewis' win in particular - and particularly the combination of her making no effort to convince members about her concerns, then complaining about their choice. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto offers multiple takeaways from the convention and its aftermath - including as to the significance of a new group of executives to facilitate change within the NDP.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Mike Gaworecki reports on new research showing how the climate breakdown is affecting everyday life. Aliyah Marko-Omene reports on warnings that Saskatchewan may be in store for another brutal season of wildfires. And P.W.J. Glover et al. study the risks of melting permafrost, finding that a melt cycle can result in significantly more releases of methane and other gases than is generally accounted for. 

- Amelia Pollard and Eric Platt discuss the threat of mass consumer debt defaults - as well as the vulture capitalists who already have a plan to exploit people's misery. And Michael Spence writes about the large number of choke points in the global economy - which in turn are under increasing threat due to both the climate breakdown and wanton violence. 

- Nehal Johri discusses how the Iran war in particular makes an especially compelling case to switch to renewable energy. But Jake Johnson notes that the oil tycoons behind the Trump regime (among other political formations) are making a killing from the price shock afflicting consumers. 

- Finally, Lindsay Tedds and Gillian Petit unveil a new tool to examine the value of public investment and counter the right's constant calls for austerity. But Facts Matter points out how right-wing governments manipulate public awareness to get away with a consistent pattern of worse services at higher costs. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Paul Krugman writes that the U.S. is now the world's foremost petrostate - with disastrous results for it and for the world at large (with the exception of the group of countries including China who are leading the charge toward electrification). 

- Mary Stuart and Geoff Dembicki map out Gwyn Morgan's multimillion-dollar fossil fuel propaganda empire. And Amanda Bryant points out how the UCP has made a mockery of yet another supposed agreement with the Carney government by taking federal forbearance as an invitation toward unregulation methane pollution. 

- Niigaan Sinclair writes that spying on Indigenous peoples (invariably in the service of resource extraction) represents an intolerable threat to everybody's civil rights. 

- Katie Jagielnicka examines the misogyny behind the alt-right's relentless attacks on intellectualism. And Hanna Horvath writes that ubiquitous gambling is a demonstrable source of both intimate partner violence and social breakdown.  

- Finally, Victor Tangarmann examines the dangers of cognitive surrender in the face of authoritative-sounding-but-wrong directions from artificial intelligence. 

#ndpldr - Results and Thoughts

The votes are in, and Avi Lewis has been elected leader of the federal NDP on the first ballot. And while that doesn't come as a huge surprise based on what we knew about the race, there are a couple of parts of the outcome which bear watching.

First, to the extent there was any surprise in the outcome of the vote, it was Rob Ashton's finish in a distant fourth place. 

He'd received a substantial number of endorsements both from labour leaders and provincial elected officials, and his fund-raising was solidly ahead of the projected also-ran candidates. And it surely can't be a great sign that the candidate branded as the union choice was the weakest in the field at turning institutional resources into organizing results. 

Conversely, Tanille Johnston's placement in third was a pleasant surprise - which fit my own ballot if not my expectations. And it's certainly a plus that she's been recognized around the convention as a key leader for the NDP's future.

Meanwhile, as the newly-elected leader worked from minute one to bring the party together in solidarity, two provincial leaders unfortunately chose to undermine that effort. Naheed Nenshi's immediate disavowal of Lewis and the NDP could at least be explained away partially by a lack of personal connection to the party; Carla Beck's immediate declaration of a refusal to even meet with Lewis is both more surprising and more disappointing.

But ultimately, the leadership campaign determined who best represents the will of voters from coast to coast to coast - including in Alberta and Saskatchewan. And the choice to abandon the federal NDP and the national progressive movement just as they reach a point of revitalization and renewal will ultimately ensure primarily that those provincial wings miss out on what still looks to be a wave of energy and excitement around an impressive new leader.  

#ndpldr Roundup

One final collection of links and resources for those still deciding (or just wanting to learn more about the NDP leadership campaign):

- Marcel Nelson and Nathan Rao offer their take on how Avi Lewis has the potential to redefine left organizing in Canada. And Nora Loreto discusses some of the possible paths forward, while arguing that there's a need to work toward organizing on far more than just a partisan basis. 

- Jennifer Howard offers some advice for the candidates - though it's worth noting the apparent asymmetry in her expectations for a federal leader who is supposed to cater to the interests of provincial wings, and provincial leaders who are apparently able to use the federal leader as a punching bag. (And I'd argue the better answer is that both should work toward emphasizing and organizing around shared values, rather than looking to throw the other under the bus.)

- Markham Hislop interviews David McGrane about the campaign:

  

- And finally, Eleanor Wand and Marlo Glass report on the candidates' final pitches at the convention. And each of the candidates' showcases can be seen on CPAC:

 

 

 

 

 

Musical interlude

Myrne - Close The Distance

 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Robert Reich examines how the uber-wealthy have undermined any pretense of decision-making in the public interest - and how political financing rules and more progressive taxes are both needed to reverse the trend. And Lindsay Beyerstein notes that the most important lesson to be drawn from the Epstein files is the intolerable danger of allowing people to be so rich as to avoid any potential for accountability. 

- Andrew Coyne discusses how the Trump regime's plans for Canada involve dismemberment at best as any independence or values are seen as a threat to U.S. dominance. Which makes it all the more galling to see Mark Carney using the power won with the promise of "elbows up!" to subsidize continued fossil fuel dependence, allow American-driven AI hype to override any consideration of the future of our planet, and throw money at projects designed to hand more of our natural resources to the country threatening our sovereignty.

- Meanwhile, Max Fawcett notes that the fossil fuel lobby which has such a stranglehold on our country's politics is plainly living in the past. And Michael Mann discusses how the war in Iran is only accelerating the transition to clean energy for countries who aren't bent on supplicating themselves before Trump. 

- Similarly, Matteo Wong and Charlie Warzel take a look at the numerous obvious weak spots in the AI bubble. And Ed Zitron examines the laughable economics behind the self-serving declarations of inevitability and infinite potential.  

- Finally, Joe Vipond, Dick Zoutman and Stephane Bilodeau lament the continued refusal to recognize COVID as airborne due to a general distaste for the basic mitigation steps associated with that reality. 

#ndpldr - Leadership Vote Notes

A few observations on process as delegates have started the NDP's leadership convention in Winnipeg...

First, let's note how much actually remains to be decided this weekend. 

In the two previous federal leadership elections run under a similar voting process to this one, turnout was slightly over 50% of the party's membership. Barring a break with historical trends, we can then expect the membership count of roughly 100,000 to result in just over 50,000 votes being cast. 

Of those, plenty have already been cast online, as the candidates have encouraged supporters to vote in advance rather than waiting for the convention. And even among those who do vote, we can expect there to be some attrition as people who signed up to support a particular candidate may not rank the remaining contenders.

As a result, while there's theoretical room for late deciders to determine the outcome, there's also a real possibility that the result is already substantially baked in.

For anybody still waiting to cast their ballot, though, I'll reiterate my regular take that if there's anything to learn about the candidates at this stage, it has to do with their ability to manage the convention itself. 

I wouldn't expect to hear anything especially surprising in terms of policies or values, and any endorsements among the candidates will be of relatively limited significance. But if any of the candidates (and particularly the front-runners) run afoul of time limits or convention logistics, that will bode poorly for their ability to manage future communications and the responsibilities of leadership. 

We'll find out soon whether anything happens to change minds among leadership voters - and whether it makes a difference in the broader campaign. And after a difficult year, NDP activists should be looking forward to the opportunity to build a people-focused organization to challenge both the threat from the Trump regime, and its enablers among the Libs and Cons.

#ndpldr Roundup

Assorted links and information as the NDP's leadership race reaches its conclusion this weekend.

- Jeremy Appel takes a look at the most recent fund-raising reports, which show Avi Lewis' lead reaching the level where his total donations exceed those of his opponents combined - even as he's relied on smaller donations than the other candidates. 

- Curtis Fric examines polling on the apparent openness of voters to considering the NDP - though it's worth being careful about putting too much stock into immediate impressions of a party which has been engaged in a leadership campaign (and lacking a permanent leader) rather than focusing on defining itself to the public. And on that front, the Angus Reid Institute's polling on the lack of familiarity with the leadership candidates signals both that there's plenty of work to be done in making an introduction, but also that there's plenty of room to make a strong first impression. 

- The Canadian Press reports on the candidates' positions on pursuing a seat in the House of Commons. And for all the focus of Heather McPherson's surrogates on proximity to power, it's striking to see her message framing the ultimate point of the leadership in terms of the ability to ask questions in opposition rather than building a voter coalition capable of winning government. 

- Finally, Linda McQuaig makes the case for a left-wing populist being exactly what the NDP needs in response to the concentration of wealth and power. And Desmond Cole's conversation with Leah Gazan likewise addresses the importance of unapologetic socialism rather than muddled messaging. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Oliver Milman reports on a new study showing that the U.S. has inflicted $10 trillion in climate damage  just since 1990, with China ranking just behind. Emily Atkin writes that the true cost of oil far exceeds what people pay as a retail price. And Laura Paddison and Ella Nilsen report that the combination of the climate breakdown and rapacious corporations are producing a critical water shortage in Corpus Christi, TX.

- Ben Cooke discusses a report showing that Britain's food supply is in danger of collapsing by 2030. And George Monbiot writes about the broader risks to the global food system which are materializing before our eyes.

- Carol Leonnig and Jacqueline Alemany report on new revelations that secret information stolen by Trump after he lost the 2020 election wound up being sold off. And Anne-Marie Mediwake interviews Jeff Rubin about the oil market manipulations caused by the Trump regime's actions and messages surrounding the Iran war.

- Meanwhile, Joe Glanton reports on the Pentagon's orders to satellite firms to conceal the realities of the war, particularly where the U.S. has taken damage.

- Finally, Jaigris Hodson et al. examine the toxic misinformation which Pierre Poilievre disseminated during his appearance with Joe Rogan. And Max Fawcett weighs in on the reality that Poilievre insists on putting faith in the Trump U.S. which is both wholly undeserved, and contrary to the position of the Canadian public. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Travelling cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Jan-Werner Muller discusses Pete Hegseth's development of a nihilistic death cult. Dave Levitin comments on the connection between the elite choice to keep us dependent on dirty fossil fuels and the death and destruction arising from the Iran war today. And Damien Gayle notes that the war in turn is producing catastrophic environmental effects, as attacks on oil and gas infrastructure result in fires and uncontrolled emission releases. 

- Josh Gabbatiss points out how AI data centres are likely to end up causing far more carbon pollution than advertised. And Rory White and Natasha Bulowski document how the vast majority of planned data centres in Alberta are set to cause even more severe problems in areas whose water supply is already under severe threat. 

- Meanwhile, Emma Roth discusses how the current obsession with age verification may threaten virtual private networks and any other means of preserving privacy or security online. 

- Finally, Michelle McLean writes that Canada's universal system is the type of nation-building project we should be working to emulate - even as numerous premiers have set out to destroy it with two-tiered structures and corporate ownership models, and the Carney government (in keeping with its fundamental neoliberalism) has acquiesced in the carnage. 

Musical interlude

Bob Moses - We Made It

 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Paul Krugman notes that Donald Trump has upended the theory that presidential influence on the economy is overstated, as every new difficulty facing the U.S. can be traced to his deliberate choices. And Richard Bookstaber discusses how the global economy may be headed toward much worse than the 2008 crisis, even as Alexis Lapp reports on Trump's plans to reverse the few public protections put in place after that occurred. 

- Meanwhile, Owen Jones writes that the Iran war has destroyed any pretense that the U.S.' is a global leader rather than a bully. And Jan Dehn discusses the prospect that the Iran war will serve as the death knell for fossil fuel dependency, while George Monbiot reminds us that our current reliance on dirty energy has only fuelled the rise of dictators. 

- Eric Dolan writes about new research on the effect of electronic interruptions - with constant notifications serving as a more problematic disruption than screen time alone. The Associated Press reports on Canada's descent in the Wellbeing Research Centre's global happiness rankings, with the effects of heavy social media media use among young people identified as a major cause. And James Densley and Jillian Peterson discuss how the profile of mass shooters increasingly reflects younger people radicalized by an online culture of performative violence.

-  Finally, Meghan Bartels examines new research showing that the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. has likely been severely underestimated due to a reluctance to test for the disease. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Anne Applebaum weighs in on the inevitable recognition by any remotely rational actor that it's pointless to offer Donald Trump any respect or trustworthiness that he's fundamentally incapable of reciprocating, while Andrew Egger rightly highlights how Trump has lost friends and alienated people. But Pooja Misra reports that Pierre Poilievre is determinated to be the sucker who bets Canada's future on the preposterous theory that Trump can be trusted both to bargain in good faith, and hold up his end of any deal. 

- Jake Grumbach discusses the longstanding awareness that extreme inequality is incompatible with a functional political system and constitutional order. And Roberta Lexier writes about the feedback loop between capitalist accumulation and fascist politics - along with the need to fight back against both. 

- Jen Deerinwater and Jesse Deer In Water discuss the Indigenous pushback against the environmental damage and cultural theft wrought by gigantic data centres. Brian Merchant explores how AI is undermining post-secondary education in the U.S. And Emily Tate Sullivan examines how AI slop is particularly harmful to children's brains which are still developing. 

- Finally, Nora Loreto examines the connections between military culture and white supremacism in Quebec City. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Blissed cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Mona Charen writes that Donald Trump's war in Iran can't be explained by any motive other than a sheer ego trip. Steven Beschloss notes that nobody should be surprise that the countries who have been on the receiving end of his abuse and impetuousness are less than eager to rush to his aid. And Martin Gelin reports on the V-Dem Institute's conclusion that Trump is aiming squarely at the imposition of dictatorship. 

- Mel Hogan writes that the ultimate effect of sycophantic artificial intelligence is the cultivation of mass psychosis. And Zeb Larson compares the data center boom to the 1800s railroad bubble - featuring large-scale, heavily-subsidized investment which ultimately served mostly to further enrich the tycoons who could more than afford to finance any development on their own.  

- Noah Berlatsky is rightly scathing about the U.S. Democrats who are responding to a fascist regime and the destruction of the civil service with tax baubles. And Ned Resnikoff points out the impossibility of building a functional society on a deliberately-suppressed resource base. 

- Finally, Markham Hislop calls out the lack of any plan for Canada to live up to even the most distant or modest of our climate commitments. And Emily Atkin examines the latest permutations of fossil fuel propaganda, featuring the demand that we put our future solely in the hands of the same bad actors who have already lied us into dangerous global warming. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Adam King discusses several new studies showing that wealth inequality is only continuing to balloon in Canada. And Jared Walker and Silas Xuereb rightly question why Canadian corporate giants which extracted two-thirds of a trillion dollars in profits in 2025 are still being granted massive public handouts. 

- Meanwhile, Martin Lukacs talks to several movement organizers working on pushing back against Mark Carney's insistence on further entrenching corporate power. 

- Julia Simon notes that countries which have invested in solar energy and electrified transportation are far better positioned to deal with the oil shocks caused by Donald Trump's irrational attack on Iran. James Murray observes that European businesses are pushing to be freed from reliance on fossil fuels whose supply can be so easily disrupted, while David Fickling discusses how the plummeting price of battery storage (along with renewable power) is making dependence on oil and gas into a sucker's bet even from an immediate cost standpoint alone. But Drew Anderson's review of the state of clean energy development in Alberta highlights how the UCP has destroyed massive amounts of value and blocked needed investment as a sacrifice to the dirty oil gods. 

- Finally, Dave Levitan comments on the dangers of gambling on prediction markets. And Emanuel Fabian offers a personal account of the threats directed at a journalist for reporting accurate information rather than being pressured into assisting people who bet on the opposite outcome. 

Musical interlude

The Boxer Rebellion & Tinlicker - Diamonds

 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Alex Nguyen examines the petro-imperialism which is being inflicted on the world by the Trump administration.  And David Dayen writes that the Iran war is exposing how the U.S. faces serious supply issues which have been utterly ignored by the Trump regime.  

- Meanwhile, Gregg Gonsalves implores health workers to resist the Trump regime's abuses rather than acquiescing in civil rights abuses and the destruction of evidence-based policy. 

- Matteo Wong examines how the implausible promises of artificial intelligence are being pushed at the price of massive and dangerous changes to our natural living environment. Claire Cameron points out that even the minimal level of AI found in autocomplete mechanisms has a severe effect on our writing and thinking. And Alondra Nelson notes that the Trump regime's "deregulation" of AI in fact consists of direct state intervention to impose corporate secrecy and control.

- Dale Smith warns that the Libs are once again attacking privacy in the name of false promises of public protection - this time through mandatory age verification which both excludes young people from the online world, and impose dangerous ID requirements on adults whose personal information can then get hoovered up by tech giants.

- Finally, Saskboy points out that Regina's air quality data has generally been flawed, with little sign of any effort to improve it. And Marc Fawcett-Atkinson reports that the dirty energy industry wants us to have even less information about methane emissions, relying solely on polluters' self-reporting which has been proven to be inaccurate. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Thomas Unner discusses how Olof Palme's candour offers a needed lesson for Mark Carney and other leaders facing Donald Trump's threats. Patrick Lennox writes that we're already at war with the U.S., even if that hasn't yet been formally acknowledged. And David Coletto finds that a majority of Canadians are neutral or downright positive about loosening our trade ties with the U.S. - even as the Cons keep insisting on handing Trump yet another deal he'll never honour. 

- Marco Turco et al. study how the climate breakdown is producing immense effects on global extreme fire weather. And while John Gibbons offers some hope that a spike in oil prices will help to wean more people off of dirty energy, Damien Gayle reports that the bombing of oil infrastructure in Iran is only making people's continued dependence on fossil fuels even more of an environmental calamity. 

- Armon Aghahosseini et al. study the potential paths forward for energy development, concluding that maximizing immediate investment in clean energy is the superior strategy for both economic and environmental outcomes. But Drew Anderson examines how the UCP's sabotage has set back renewable energy development in Alberta, while Jeff Brady reports on the utilities who are lobbying to prevent the deployment of solar panels in the U.S. 

- Finally, Gabrielle Piche reports on the Kinew government's legislation to implement the right to repair in Manitoba. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Crazed cat.

Leadership 2026: Ballot and Endorsement

At this stage of the NDP leadership campaign, there seems to be little doubt which two candidates are the most qualified for the job and best positioned to hit the ground running from day one. Which makes it odd that of the many ballots I’ve seen circulating so far, none rank them in the first two positions. 

I’ll presume that’s a largely a matter of strategic messaging and voting, as people posting their ballots see it as important to be perceived voting against one or the other. (Needless to say, that makes for no small irony given how much reason NDP members have to challenge that mindset in federal elections.)

But I won’t be following the trend. So here’s how I’ll be ranking the candidates.

1. Avi Lewis

Since before the last federal election campaign, I’ve been emphasizing the need for the NDP and its leadership to adapt with organizing ambition and a willingness to resist and confront both the Trump regime, and the filthy rich class (spread across multiple parties) which has supported or enabled its abuses. 

Lewis is the only leadership candidate meeting the moment, offering the prospect of both party rebuilding and broader organizing. And the fact that he combines that needed approach with strong communication skills and deep political and media bona fides makes him my clear top choice.

2. Heather McPherson

She’s a reasonably close second behind Lewis as a potential spokesperson for the NDP, and her track record as a progressive leader is far better than you’d think from the petropolitical rhetoric being used to try to bully members into supporting her.

But this is not a moment to vote out of fear or resignation, nor to treat the federal NDP’s role as being limited to that of headwaiter to the party’s provincial wings. And the ubiquity of those themes among McPherson’s supporters signals that she’s not the right first choice.

3. Tanille Johnston

It may have been lost in the results of the 2025 election, but Johnston was already seen as a rising star candidate when she made her first federal run. And despite the NDP’s painful overall result and an associated Liberal vote split, she came extremely close to holding a seat which had rarely been more than a virtual coin flip even in better days for the party.

Which is to say that based on her strong personal profile, her ideas and her established organizing success, Johnston should be seen as one of key faces of the NDP’s future. And while she isn’t yet in the same tier as the candidates above her as a current leadership contender, I’d hope we’ll see her in another leadership race down the road.

4. Rob Ashton

Ashton does get credit for out-organizing my initial expectations, and for at least recognizing plenty of policies worth pursuing (though as PLG notes in his comment, those have rarely appeared in Ashton’s opportunities to speak contemporaneously). 

Ultimately, though, he too has spent too much of the campaign fighting either past battles or the wrong opponents to place any higher in my rankings.

5. Tony McQuail

While he’s made a valiant effort as a lower-profile candidate and brought plenty of worthwhile ideas to the race, McQuail is ultimately the candidate with the least prospect of rebuilding the NDP’s organization from a lead role. And so while I hope both he and his principles feature in the party’s future plans, he lands at the bottom of my leadership ballot.

Leadership 2026 Candidate Profile - Heather McPherson

What We Knew

McPherson entered the leadership campaign with both the  advantage and the burden of being the first choice of the party establishment at a time when the party itself isn’t seen especially positively, and when that establishment itself is made up disproportionately of a niche (urban contenders for government in two-party Western provinces) which fall far short of covering the ground the federal party needs to win.

What We’ve Learned

McPherson has predictably won a slew of endorsements throughout the campaign. But her experience as an MP hasn’t translated into an advantage in either organization or communication. Instead, she’s tried to walk a fine line between avoiding being seen as the pro-dirty energy candidate, while trying to benefit as the alternative to Lewis’ more focused commitment to a clean energy transition.

What She’s Proposing

One standout proposal from McPherson however is her combination community work placement program as associated job transition plan. While it’s important to deal with the loss of hope throughout the working class, there’s a particular need to offer young voters reason to think they have a path forward - and McPherson has done well on that front.

What to Watch For

Ultimately, McPherson hasn’t been able to turn her advantages into a great deal of momentum for herself - so while to would be a surprise to see her rank below second on the first ballot, her prospects will likely come down to the efforts of the other two main contenders. 

There’s a chance Lewis could take an insurmountable lead early with his greater appeal beyond party lines, or conversely if he can’t match his fund-raising momentum with motivated voters there’s a chance McPherson could win out as the default alternative. Or it’s possible that Ashton could pave the way for her to win by both mobilizing labour, and persuading members not to support Lewis (particularly in down-ballot rankings).

But it’s hard to see what would change for the better in the NDP with McPherson at the helm and the current powers that be left in place. 

Leadership 2026 Candidate Profile - Tony McQuail

What We Knew

McQuail entered the campaign with the lowest profile in the field, but his bona fides as a voice for rural environmentalism were clear from the jump. 

What We’ve Learned

While McQuail has stayed within his expected lane, he hasn’t done much to move beyond it (again aside from the laudable mutual aid between his campaign and Tanille Johnston’s).

What He’s Proposing

For all the environmental messages in the campaign, McQuail stands out in emphasizing community-level projects which work within planetary limitations, rather than high-speed rail lines and national Crown corporations. And while I’d think both deserve discussion, the former seems to have particular potential to reach communities who don’t tend to be prioritized first for megaprojects.

What to Watch For

McQuail doesn’t appear likely to last past a first ballot. But his supporters could still be key in determining the outcome of the leadership race, while his ideas and organizing principles are worth including in the NDP’s future plans.

Leadership 2026 Candidate Profile - Avi Lewis

What We Knew

While Lewis’ campaign narrative has normally been framed in terms of his family history in the NDP, the aspect of his track record that strikes me as more significant is his time as a journalist. While it’s been some time since I found political panel and interview shows to be worth much attention, Lewis’ intelligence and insight on CounterSpin both made for worthwhile watching, and earned him credibility with all kinds of political actors.

It’s always a challenge for an NDP leader to both earn attention and be taken seriously within the broader political scene - and Lewis’ track record gives him a major head start on that front, even as he also laps the field in progressive movement credibility. 

The challenge for Lewis has been to translate those traits within the membership, particularly when they haven’t yet resulted in riding-level electoral success, and when much of the party establishment seems fairly determined to stop him.

What We’ve Learned

In another field of candidates, Lewis might have been vulnerable to being beaten out in personability or French language skills. In this one, he’s been the standout in both communications and organizational strength - while also giving NDP members plenty of intriguing ideas to work with. And while he’s taken the few barbs that have been launched during the course of the campaign, he’s responded with messages of unity without sacrificing principle in the process.

What He’s Proposing

Maybe most ambitiously - if also most optimistically - Lewis’ plan to turn constituency associations into community organizing hubs on a systematic basis looks to be an ideal fit for the political moment. We can count on the next few years featuring plenty more abuses from the Trump regime as well as inspiring responses at the community level; the path toward rebuilding involves turning increases outrage and awareness into lasting involvement.

What to Watch For

While it’s rightly been pointed out that Lewis’ fund-raising prowess (in both donors and dollars) likely signals a lead in the campaign, it’s also worth noting that he doesn’t seem to have an advantage on the same scale as Jack Layton or Jagmeet Singh in the campaigns where they cruised to victory. 

At this point, the race seems likely to take more than one ballot to decide, which would require Lewis to earn down-ballot support to come out ahead. And if the next candidates in line end up seeing their support go to each other, Lewis may need to count on a push from Johnston and McQuail supporters to put him over the top.

[Edit: corrected name of Lewis’ show.]

Leadership 2026 Candidate Profile - Tanille Johnston

What We Knew

Tanille Johnston’s pitch to NDP leadership voters includes a strong combination of community governance and personal activism as an Indigenous leader. And she’s highlighted those themes throughout the campaign, while also going through several rounds of mutual aid with Tony McQuail which offer an example as to how to provide distinct visions while ultimately pulling in the same direction.

What We’ve Learned

Unfortunately, Johnston’s personal appeal and strengths on paper don’t seem to have translated into a particularly strong campaign. 

While she and McQuail have both managed to assemble enough support to stay in the race, neither has been able to do much more than that. Johnston’s list of endorsements is modest based on her track record, and she hasn’t been especially impressive in the course of the debates.

What She’s Proposing

While Johnston hasn’t presented as comprehensive a set of policies as the front-runners, she can take credit for dealing in depth with a couple of issues. Her detailed and principled proposals for Indigenous reconciliation and empowerment should offer the eventual winner an ideal starting point for the party to embrace, and her thoughtful AI platform offers a helpful counter to the blind hype espoused by the Libs and Cons.

What to Watch For

In any ranked-voting campaign there’s always potential for the first supporters of a lower-ranked candidate to substantially affect the voting process if the final outcome is close, and Johnston’s support could plausibly go to either of the primary candidates if she makes an endorsement of her own. Beyond that, Johnston has certainly confirmed her place as one of the leaders who should be able to rebuild the NDP’s Vancouver Island stronghold, and help set the party’s long-term direction. 

Leadership 2026 Candidate Profile - Rob Ashton

With voting set to begin tomorrow in the federal NDP’s leadership campaign, I’ll take the opportunity to offer candidate profiles - focusing on what we knew at the start, what we’ve learned over the course of the campaign, and what’s worth keeping an eye on in their skills and policy proposals. 

What We Knew

At the beginning of the campaign, Rob Ashton was the political neophyte in the race. That meant we had relatively little to go on in terms of his personality, plans and prospects - other than the general impression that he had ample support from the labour movement.

The sense of the unknown them built further when Ashton declined to offer policy proposals, stating instead that he’d develop those in talking to people over the course of the campaign. But he did start off strongly on the organizational front, getting successful events organized from the early stages of the race.

What We’ve Learned

If any candidate’s position has improved meaningfully over the course of the campaign, it’s Ashton’s. He’s managed to win coverage delivering an oppositional message against Avi Lewis’ front-running campaign, elevating him above the other lesser-known candidates to the point of having a plausible path to benefit from an effective candidate alliance with Heather McPherson.

Yet if Ashton’s organization has built up over the course of the campaign, his personal appeal hasn’t done the same. He’s still a distinctly less effective communicator than the top tier of candidates, as a middling speaker in English and a write-off in French. And while he’s gone further than I would have expected in winning labour support, he hasn’t moved meaningfully past its boundaries.

What He’s Proposing

For the extra time Ashton took in presenting his policies, he hasn’t offered much that doesn’t echo other candidates. Perhaps the most distinctive proposal he’s put forward is to tie an explicit tax surcharge to pay disparities between the CEO and median worker of a single company - but that looks to be a relatively minor piece of puzzle in addressing inequality which largely arises out of disparities both between organizations, and between types of income and wealth. 

What to Watch For

At this point, the best guess for Ashton’s result is to finish a solid third, with the ability to direct much of his support to McPherson to put her over the top. An extreme best-case outcome for Ashton would be to have those standings reversed to allow him to win as the leading alternative to Lewis, while a drop to fourth or lower would be a disappointment.

But perhaps more important will be his choices after the campaign is over. 

Ideally Ashton and his labour movement supporters will want to stay involved in building the party no matter who wins, including by having him take a prominent role going forward. But his relatively negative messages again Lewis raise the risk he’d choose to do so if the leadership campaign doesn’t turn out as he hopes - and that could only further attenuate the connections between the NDP and its labour base.

Musical interlude

Donovan Woods - Back For The Funeral

 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Elevated cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Brian Beutler comments on the Trump regime's absolute lack of distinction between war and politics, and what that means for any hope of a peaceful transition to reflect electoral choices. And Robert Reich discusses the absurdity of the U.S. launching increasingly destructive wars without having the slightest clue what their endgame is in any of them. 

- Dave Levitan writes about the dangers of allowing people to gamble on choices and outcomes in war. 

- Meanwhile, Alexander de Croo points out that development is no less an exercise of hard power than military action - while providing a much-needed prospect of positive outcomes. 

- Surya Sakhar-Suot writes about the myriad benefits of remote work - and the concurrent folly of imposing return-to-office mandates. 

- Finally, Ben Steverman discusses how the rise of 19th-century billionaire robber barons is being reflected in the emergence of the trillionaires of the near term. And Hugh Gusterson writes about the elite gifts and manipulations that tied together Jeffrey Epstein's network of influence and control. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Bruce Boccardy writes about the continued centrality of class struggle. Melissa Ryan comments on the realities that "Epstein class" is by far the most apt description of the people currently in charge of the U.S. (and far too much else). And Nick Chater and George Loewenstein highlight how self-serving corporations and billionaires are trying to force individuals to bear the responsibility and consequences for systemic ills. 

- Meanwhile, Jason Koebler writes that the gamification of war crimes in Iran has turned into just another appalling example of the depravity economy. And Rana Foroohar discusses how the U.S.' increasing adherence to petrostate logic is making everybody worse off (other than a tiny number of the most exploitative tycoons).

- The Economic Security Project examines how we could be ensuring a dignified life for everybody - even while helping individual recipients' employment prospects - through a readily-affordable guaranteed income. 

- Finally, Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello report on the Ford PCs' decision to just stop informing the public of the measured consequences of their policies. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Mark Kreidler notes that people from around the globe are staying away from the U.S. in droves - due to both the risk of being a foreigner in a country looking to detain anybody fitting that description, and the desire to avoid rewarding a rogue regime. And Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson write about the increasing number of Americans choosing to leave the U.S. rather than suffering under the violence and corruption of the Trump administration. 

- Sadiq Khan highlights how UK Labour has only hurt itself by imposing right-wing bigotry as policy rather than giving effect to the progressive values of its base. And Justin Ling questions Mark Carney's cheerleading for the U.S.' wars of conquest, while Lloyd Axworthy discusses how Carney has chosen to enable (and indeed embrace) U.S. aggression in violation of international law. 

- Ajit Niranjan reports on the shocking loss of marine life as a result of the climate breakdown, with drops in marine biomass of up to 20% in a single year. Greg Harman discusses new modeling showing that over 2% of all deaths in a Texas summer - numbering up to a thousand in any given year - can be traced back to extreme heat caused by global warming. And Sadie Harley examines how carbon dioxide levels in the human body are increasing dangerously. 

- Hayley Smith discusses yet another pernicious application of artificial intelligence, as fabricated "public comments" were used by a California environmental authority as reason not to phase out fossil gas appliances. 

- Finally, Erika Edwards reports on the tens of millions of dollars in traceable losses caused by the anti-vaxxers' choice to spread measles in the U.S. - while hinting at far more severe damage which may never be observable. 

Musical interlude

CHVRCHES - Killer

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Owen Jones writes that a stunning Green by-election win in the UK can be traced to their offering meaningful hope that things can get better while Labour has chosen a strategy of reactionary centrism. And G. Elliott Morris highlights how the problem U.S. Democrats face with voters is one of being perceived as weak rather than falling offside of people's values. 

- George Tsakraklides discusses the myriad ways in which our existing systems and structures are being wrecked - as well as the need to build up again from the wreckage. 

- Seth Klein points out the desperate need for public investment as part of Canada's economic reorientation, including through new or revitalized Crown corporations. But Taylor Noakes reports on yet another instance of Mark Carney instead serving the interests of dirty capital, this time by facilitating the development of fossil fuel-powered data centres following a flurry of lobbying. And Darius Snieckus reports on Investors For Paris Compliance's warning that the capital class' push to lock us into fossil gas infrastructure represents a losing bet for Canadian savings. 

-  Finally, the Norwegian Consumer Council offers a painfully apt take on the enshittification of our world:

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Adam Serwer points out the glaring contrast between real accountability for bad actors in other countries, and the U.S.' culture of absolute elite impunity epitomized by the Trump regime. And the Boston Globe reports on the Republicans' deliberate trashing of institutional knowledge which served to benefit the general public. 

- Norm Farrell weighs in on the reality that clean renewable energy is also far more affordable than dirtier sources. But Carl Meyer reports on the Moe government's determination to burn a billion dollars and large amounts of avoidable coal just to prove it's above the law - even as the Libs show little inclination to enforce it. 

- Alexander Gazmararian, Nathan Jensen and Dustin Tingley study the Biden administration's failure to promote or take credit for its green investments - making it far too easy for Republicans to both take power and reverse course. 

- Dean Baker discusses some of the factors which figure to cause the eventual bursting of the AI bubble. And in case public opprobrium wasn't already high enough on the list, Clare Duffy and Leah Eadicicco report on Anthropic's sudden dismantling of any binding guardrails against the misuse of its system.   

- Finally, David Dayen writes that Kalshi and other prediction markets are inadvertently conceding that their platforms create the potential for deliberate manipulation that far exceeds any innocent or neutral purpose. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Casey Newton notes that repeated studies showing the distorting effects of X and other social media sites are making it impossible to pretend that major tech platforms deserve the protection of a presumption of neutrality. And Raphael Satter and Alexandra Alper report on the Trump regime's demand that other countries avoid asserting any protection for data integrity or public privacy where its tech giants think there's something to be exploited.

- Rory White investigates the consultants looking to overwhelm political conversations with AI talking points. And Brett McKay reports on the right-wing astroturf entities who are skirting or deliberately violating Canadian election laws in order to flood the airwaves with election ads without providing timely (or in some cases any) disclosure of who's funding them. 

- A.R. Moxon discusses why toxic masculinity is damaging to the people who succumb to it, while recognition of others' humanity is necessary to the flourishing of one's own. And Kelly Hayes writes that it's no surprise that people who have been systematically isolated are unable to understand the connections being made in Minnesota where people are building support networks. 

- Finally, Sharlene Gandhi examines data from 211 calls which shows that housing and mental health are the most glaring unmet needs among people calling for crisis support. And Simon Enoch discusses Saskatchewan's continued place as the province with the highest rates of child poverty - which is only becoming both broader and deeper under the Sask Party. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Feline oversight.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Charlie Angus discusses the realities of being next door to a gangster regime. And Navigator Research finds that a majority of Americans recognize that they live in an authoritarian state rather than a democracy. 

- Norm Berlatsky discusses how even the eventual departure of Donald Trump from power is far from enough to salvage a functional political system. And Hamilton Nolan examines how the uber-rich are already distorting U.S. politics, while noting that there's alarming potential for matters to get far worse. 

- An anonymous writer offers a grim look at the abuse and objectification which awaits teenaged girls online. But lest we be too quick to accept age restrictions as an answer, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty warns of the problems with banning large classes of users rather than making social media platforms safe for everybody. 

- Finally, Rebecca Solnit writes about the decades of activism which have finally led to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and other abusers in Jeffrey Epstein's network. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Ana Marie Cox discusses how Jeffrey Epstein was able to amass influence and commit atrocities by sharing the discriminatory and dehumanizing values with his targets. Solani Kolakhtar notes that the Epstein class consists entirely of wealthy and privileged people using anti-elite messaging to distract from their own contempt for and exploitation of the general public. And Jamelle Bouie talks to Andrea Pitzer about the nature of concentration camps as means of treating disfavoured people into things to be warehoused. 

- Sam Freedman highlights the challenges for governments in trying to reach any meaningful proportion of the public in a media environment which is both fragmented into numerous technical channels, yet still largely controlled by the wealthy few. And John Herrman weighs in on Elon Musk's deliberate choice to use X to breed hatred and bigotry, while Justin Hendrix talks to Jose Marichal about the importance of challenging the implicit algorithmic contract underlying our interaction with major social media sites.

- Joseph Stiglitz, Monica Geingos and Michael Marmot warn that inequality will make the next pandemic worse (even as the right's attacks on science and public health mean it will likely happen sooner). And McKenzie Beard offers a summary of how various communicable diseases spread, as well as how best to mitigate risk at the individual level. 

- Finally, Phillip Inman reports on a new study showing how the arbitrary elimination of remote work options has a disproportionate effect on people with disabilities as well as people relied upon to perform care work. 

 

#ndpldr Roundup

A few links and updates from the NDP's federal leadership campaign...

- The (primarily) English leadership debate can be found via CBC:

 

- Perspectives Journal's January issue focuses on the leadership race and its relationship to the NDP and Canada's progressive movement generally. And Peggy Nash has also been interviewing the leadership candidates for Perspectives Journal: see so far her interviews with Tony McQuail, Heather McPherson, Tanille Johnston and Rob Ashton.

- Laurie Adkin examines the bad-faith complaints about Avi Lewis - including familiar demands of fealty to exploitative oil and gas interests with no regard for the harm they do to public health and well-being - from inside and outside the leadership campaign.  

- Finally, Dale Smith offers his take on the campaign, recognizing that the likely decision will come down to Lewis versus McPherson. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Victor Pickard writes about the multiple layers of media capture which have collectively undermined access to accurate information across U.S. sources. 

- Ajit Niranian highlights how the EU is stifling any attention to the climate crisis (and indeed pushing a deregulatory agenda) even as the climate breakdown causes increasingly frequent disasters. 

- Gita Jackson offers an important distinction between being opposed to technological progress, and criticizing its use as a means of exploitation. And Jurgen Geuter comments on the challenge of trying to live ethically when the world is largely set up to preclude action other than through problematic means.  

- Meanwhile, Georgia Wells reports on OpenAI's awareness that the Tumbler Ridge shooter was plotting out violence dating back to last year - and its decision not to alert law enforcement or take any other steps to protect the public. And Victor Tangermann examines the alarm bells sounding among investors who are recognizing the implausibility that massive AI-related expenses will produce any returns.

- Finally, Frank Landymore reports on Stanford's development of a "universal vaccine formula" which could protect against multiple respiratory diseases - if it's not blocked by RFJ Jr. and his anti-vaxxers. 

Musical interlude

Lastlings, RUFUS DU SOL - No Time

 

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sarah Sloat discusses how the collapse of democracy in the U.S. is producing severe mental health problems for the people living through it. And Natalie Brender writes about the need to treat violent extremism as a threat to public health as well as safety.  

- Graham Readfearn experiences the effects of the type of extreme heat that the climate breakdown is imposing on increasingly large numbers of people, while the Associated Press reports on a new study again finding that the climate crisis is increasing the dangers caused by wildfires. And Disha Shetty highlights new research demonstrating how air pollution contributes to poor mental health. 

- Linda McQuaig weighs in on Mark Carney's plans to further entrench the corporate domination of Canada by placing any favoured businesses above the law. And Ariel Rabinovitch reports on the pitiful fine applied to Superstore for false "Product of Canada" displays. 

- Meanwhile, Justin Ling writes about the moral cost of relying (selectively) on military spending as the primarily mechanism for domestic industrial development. 

- Finally, Markham Hislop argues that Danielle Smith is an even more severe threat to Canada than Donald Trump - though the bigoted "authoritarian libertarianism" which rightly concerns him seems largely of a piece with what's happened in the U.S. And Emmett MacFarlane writes that Smith's plans to render Canada dysfunctional may be even worse than mere secession. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Flaky cat.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Patriotic Millionaires highlight the connection between the extreme concentration of wealth and the Epstein class' culture of depravity and impunity. Amanda Mull is the latest to call out the absence of any meaningful pushback again the Trump regime from the corporate class. And Greg Sargent notes that the public response to Republican abuses is offering badly-needed evidence that there's still plenty of room for people to work together - even as he recognizes the risk that Democrats will be too stuck in their habits to foster that movement, which is all the more clear based on their reliance on the median-voter theory critiqued by Henry Farrell. 

- Meanwhile, in case the risks of AI weren't glaring enough without a fascist government insisting that it facilitate atrocities, Dave Lawler, Maria Curi, and Mike Allen report on Pete Hegseth's demand that Anthropic (and presumably other AI platforms) offer itself up as a tool to target civilians or face discrimination in government treatment. And Will Bunch warns that spin about ICE "retreating" from Minnesota is no more credible than most self-serving statements from the administration. 

- Thor Benson interviews David Roberts about the Trump regime's decree that climate science be declared null and void - and the risk that a partisan SCOTUS will declare that presidential whims take precedence over facts. And the Guardian's editorial board notes that China's work on renewables is positioning it to be the global leader in the energy sources of the future while the U.S. clings to outdated technology. 

- Finally, Justin Nobel reports on the toxic wastewater that's been left behind from past extraction activity (with communities left to bear the risk of a lack of cleanup), while Joe Wilkins reports on the spraying of radioactive fracking waste on a future elementary school site as a painfully stark example of the oil industry's disregard for public health and safety. And Daniel Price discusses the environmental justice impact of the destruction of water resources in the western U.S.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- John Ripton writes about the connection between the egregious concentration of wealth and the rise of fascist politics. And Virginia Heffernan points out how the uber-rich have used their wealth to fund eugenics, while Kristen Toussaint discusses their similar obsession with climate denialism. 

- Meanwhile, Lucas Amin and Peter Geoghegan examine how corporate donations - particularly from companies under the control of extremely wealthy individuals - are distorting UK politics. 

- Jonathan Cohn discusses how the FDA's refusal to even review new vaccines is a threat to health around the globe. And Max Kozlov notes that the Trump regime is scrubbing any suggestion that the U.S.' public health institutions might prepare for or mitigate future disease outbreaks. 

- Charlie Warzel laments the development of nihilist cultures online. But while it's worth pointing out the presence of dangerous actors, Brian Beutler argues that MAGA has never really succeeded in a broad-based culture war.

-  Finally, Duane Bratt makes the case for Alberta to stay in Canada. And Robert Currie points out how there's no legal path to separation through a referendum - though that's exactly why the separatists' collaboration with a Trump regime which operates under a "just try and stop us" mentality is so dangerous and treasonous.