Some in the NDP are once again up to their undemocratic shenanigans. A committee of three-party insiders is angling to suppress a campaign with a thousand volunteers proposing an eco-socialist alternative to our wealth-concentrating economic system.
On Monday the NDP Chief Electoral Officer released a statement to the National Post and Toronto Star accusing me of lying. Éric Hébert-Daly stated, “It has recently come to my attention that Mr. Yves Engler has been sharing with the media that he has not yet been approved by the Leadership Review Committee of Canada’s NDP to stand as an official leadership candidate. I would like to clarify that we are not in receipt of an application from Mr. Engler, and as such he has no current standing within the leadership contest.”
I’ve stated explicitly in a dozen public forums that we have yet to submit to vetting and have instead gathered the requisite number of nomination signatures and most of the money we need to pay the party to be part of the race. According to the NDP rules, we can register as late as January 31, 2026.
Additionally, my campaign has devoted a huge amount of time and effort to ensure we comply with Elections Canada rules. In July and August, we reached out to Elections Canada and appointed a (volunteer) Chief Financial Officer. As a prospective leadership candidate, we are required to heed Elections Canada’s fundraising rules, not those of the NDP.
The misleading public attack against me is the latest sign that some in the party, including Hébert-Daly, refuse to treat the campaign fairly. Back in August the party refused to respond to repeated calls from my financial agent and Hébert-Daly delayed sending me the nomination package. Then when we announced that we had surpassed the signature threshold, Hébert-Daly added new rules. Additionally, the party barred me from participating in the Ontario NDP convention. At the convention centre in Niagara on September 20, I sought a visitor pass as the other leadership candidates had received. They denied my request as well as a subsequent bid to pay for an observer pass or register as media (as I’ve done with other types of conventions).
Obviously, we want to be ‘vetted in’ to the race since that would give us access to a large NDP contact list to promote our detailed platform and public events as well as to boost our fundraising and would ensure our participation in all the official events. We also want to be vetted to be able to provide donors with tax credits since currently we are subject to Elections Canada rules (with a maximum donation of $1,750), but don’t get to offer the benefit.
We’ve stalled on vetting as a strategy, which I’ve explained in at least a dozen public forums or interviews, to make it more difficult for the party to suppress the grassroots campaign. The idea is to build momentum and a broad perception that we are part of the race to raise the political cost of exclusion. We are not naïve about the NDP’s history of suppressing democracy, be it with Anjali Appadurai, Paul Manly and dozens of others who’ve been blocked or ‘vetted out’ of races.
Despite being constrained by Elections Canada rules and not having access to the formal membership list, the campaign has organized a dozen speaking events and quickly raised $85,000. We’ve done so to prove we can pay the party the $100 000 entrance fee, which they raised from $30 000 in the last leadership race partly to deter left insurgent candidates.
Also, we’ve released detailed, bottom up, policy. On Friday we dropped “Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed – Onward to a Socialist Future”. The policy platform was drawn up by 45 activists and researchers who were assisted by dozens more who helped in translating, laying out and designing the platform.
The recent attack via the corporate media is designed to turn attention away from the battle of ideas our campaign is seeking to instigate. It demonstrates that some in the party don’t want to question capitalism and turn to the grassroots.
To assist, donate or learn more about my bid to lead the NDP check out yvesforndpleader.ca
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