Four months into his role, NDP Leader Avi Lewis isn’t in a hurry.
After taking the helm of a party that took a hit in the 2025 federal election, Lewis is focused on getting the NDP ready for an election – not on securing a seat in the House of Commons just yet. With several byelections scheduled before year’s end, Lewis plans to join candidates canvassing those areas but won’t be running himself.
“I think there will be a point in the next year where I feel we’re election-ready across the country. We want to run serious campaigns everywhere,” Lewis mentioned during a recent chat in Montreal’s Plateau neighborhood.
“We’re at a point as a party bouncing back where I can’t just chase after a seat at any cost. So I do need to gauge when it’s time for me to jump in? That’ll either be during the next election or leading up to it, once we are fully prepared.”
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Lewis ran and lost in Vancouver ridings during both the 2021 and 2025 elections.
He has spent the last three weeks campaigning with NDP candidates Pierre Céré and Nima Machouf, who are competing in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Laurier-Ste-Marie respectively.
The maps of those two ridings hang on one wall of an office inside a Montreal Presbyterian church, where Lewis has been taking daily one-on-one French lessons that last three hours while he’s in town.
“Usually when you do French immersion, you go somewhere outside Montreal like Jonquière or Trois-Rivières since it’s such a bilingual city. I’ve really worked hard to stay immersed by knocking on doors for these upcoming byelections,” Lewis said.
The focus of his French lessons has been political communication. His lesson on Wednesday started with his teacher giving feedback on an interview he did with Radio-Canada just one day earlier.
While she paused frequently to discuss his pronunciation and word choices, she celebrated with a fist pump when the Radio-Canada host praised his French at the conclusion of their conversation.
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Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story. The NDP aims to retain Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, which is currently held by Independent Alexandre Boulerice. He left the NDP caucus after announcing plans to run in this fall’s Quebec election. Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault has announced he will resign from his position as MP for Laurier-Ste-Marie. Story continues below A portion of one recent French lesson was dedicated to analyzing Guilbeault’s interview from Nov. 30, 2025, aired on Radio-Canada’s “Tout le monde en parle” regarding his resignation from cabinet. He studied host Guy A. Lepage’s interview techniques and political rhetoric styles specific to Québécois French. Lewis understands his party’s history well. Former leader Jack Layton’s appearance on this program during the 2011 campaign is credited with significantly boosting the NDP’s profile in Quebec – something Lewis hopes to achieve again. The previous election saw the NDP shrink down to just seven seats in Parliament. Since then, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout switched over to join the Liberals and Boulerice exited federal politics altogether – leaving Lewis with only five members that could fit comfortably into one car heading towards Parliament Hill. This situation means they have no representation on parliamentary committees and face limited visibility during question periods. Lewis pointed out that both caucus members and NDP supporters prefer him focusing on grassroots work rather than being tied up in Ottawa right now. Lewis attributed last year’s significant loss for the NDP partly due to widespread anxiety caused by U. S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. He noted that many still view Prime Minister Mark Carney as best suited for handling such issues moving forward. B ut he also believes there’s emerging “buyer’s remorse” among New Democrats who voted Liberal back in 2025 alongside some Liberals unhappy about Carney supporting artificial intelligence development, increased military funding along with fossil fuel expansion amid climate emergencies occurring globally.” Story continues below “There are lots of progressive Liberals who are ready to come over and I think that we have potential flip some seats next time around where people might be surprised,” he said while adding that when Canadians feel “ready” they’ll return voting based upon their values.” More on Politics More videos A recent Angus Reid online poll indicates about one-in-six voters who backed Liberals back in 2025 now express willingness toward supporting NDP instead; half cite climate change as their primary concern politically speaking. (The Canadian Research Insights Council states industry standards don’t allow margin-of-error calculations because results were derived through non-random sampling methods.) Lewis sees downtown Montreal ridings representing “very progressive” locales where competitive opportunities exist if calling Israel’s actions within Gaza genocidal while condemning militaristic operations undertaken by both Israel & America throughout Middle Eastern regions; additionally promoting green energy options instead over continued reliance upon fossil fuels production sources too. Post-Montreal activities include visiting Beaches-East York riding near Toronto followed shortly thereafter North Vancouver-Capilano region within weeks ahead – byelection events scheduled occurring here & Chicoutimi-Le Fjord (in Quebec) slated August thirty-first. Although no candidates currently stand tall amongst others running within aforementioned districts yet volunteers actively canvas territory ahead concerning upcoming votes! Party leadership anticipated full nomination battles taking place surrounding these regions but didn’t foresee Carney calling summer byelections quite yet – suggesting potential appointments may become necessary amidst unexpected developments such situations create overall impact upon organization strategy going forth.These byelection outcomes shall serve testing ground verifying whether indeed claims stating recovery progress made post-losing support previously diverted towards both Liberal/Conservative parties hold true across pivotal constituencies alike.
Currently observing positive signs indicating revival happening amongst demographics once primarily identified aligning chiefly Conservative voter base; specifically targeting youth demographic since many young Canadians grapple financial burdens linked housing costs plus facing challenging hurdles posed AI tech growth& climate change risks looming large overhead each day passing…
“If we can excite young folks enough get them engaged then possibly surprises await… either via these upcoming byelections OR actual general contests!” advised him further emphasizing outcome projections hinging less against rivaling Liberals rather centered around reclaiming ground lost earlier directly opposed Conservatives’ advantage gained previously existing setbacks encountered.”
If successful siphoning votes away conservatives becomes feasible shifting core narratives surrounding traditional strategic voting arguments pushing forwards declaring case against liberal dominance suggesting viable alternatives offer credible paths wherein legitimate shifts occur benefiting overall electorate participation all rounds!
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