Can Avi Lewis Do for Canada What Zohran Mamdani Did for New York?

Is the federal NDP under the new and progressive leadership of Avi Lewis making a comeback?

In the last federal election, Jagmeet Singh’s timid, tepid campaign brought the federal NDP to its worst showing ever, earning only 6.29 % of the popular vote.

That depressing level of public support may be finally starting to improve.

At the end of this May, four polling companies released their latest federal numbers. Nanos pegged the NDP at 13%. Liaison Strategies had them at 15%. Abacus Data placed them at 11%. The last company to post, Léger, placed them still in the basement at only 6%.

Nonetheless, if we average these four polls, the NDP are sitting at 11.25%. Considering that it’s new dynamic leader, Avi Lewis, has only been in the job since March 29, 2026, this is a very significant increase.

I am cautiously optimistic that the rise in federal NDP support is just beginning, as Lewis has committed to a program that inspires Canadians and gives them hope:

• ‘Head to Toe Health Care’ including free mental health care so that Canadians no longer have to choose between going without necessary treatment or sacrificing other essentials to private care; bringing long-term care into the public and nonprofit system; and expanding team-based primary care.
• ‘Tax fairness’, including implementing a wealth tax and ending corporate handouts.
• ‘Homes for the Many’, including building a million homes and protecting tenants by capping rents.
• ‘A Green New Deal’, including manufacturing electric-battery buses, delivery vans, and farm equipment, and ceasing to build any further fossil fuel infrastructure.
• ‘Public Options’ to make life more manageable, providing public, non-profit grocery stores to make food more affordable, and investing in local food providers.

One of my favourite podcasts – The Rational National – presents an equally hopeful analysis to mine in a recent posting on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUcSPRABifE.

There are certainly signs that support for change is on the rise. On July 24, 2025, Zohran Mamdani decisively won New York’s mayoral election, inspiring a public hungry for progressive politics that do away with old-style, establishment proposals.

Mamdani is now decisively meeting that challenge. In his first 100 days, he has secured a historic $1.2 billion investment in universal childcare; delivered $34 million for support to tenants; and has filled over 100,000 potholes. He has done all this while balancing New York’s budget and implementing a debt elimination plan.

My crystal ball tells me that in a few years from now, Avi Lewis will be referred to as Canada’s Zohran Mamdani.

 

Daily atmospheric CO₂ [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]

Latest daily total (June 08, 2026): 432.41ppm

One year ago (June 09, 2025): 430.07ppm