Canadian Author and Activist
Avi Lewis isn’t responsible for the decades of anti-Palestinian activism, but his recounting of family lore shouldn’t lead some to believe the family most responsible for NDP anti-Palestinianism were “anti-Zionist”. Yesterday Keith Porteous of Island Grapevine News emailed me to complain about an article in which I (in passing) labelled grandfather David Lewis a “fanatic... Continue Reading →
Yes, Avi Lewis is a “warmonger”. He’s more hawkish than Jean Chrétien on the NATO proxy war and has been silent on NDP militarism. I began a recent article asking “Is Avi Lewis a war monger? Does he want to prolong the costliest proxy war in Canadian history?” The piece detailed Lewis’ support for sending... Continue Reading →
Does Avi Lewis support NATO? Now is the time for leftists to ask his position on the belligerent military alliance. On Monday BC NDP Premier David Eby said he wants a new NATO bank to be headquartered in Vancouver. A few weeks earlier former NDP MP and Toronto mayor Olivia Chow called for her city... Continue Reading →
Calls to empower the intelligence agencies, even turn the party’s keys over to them, demonstrates the power-serving, anti-leftist nature of segments of the NDP. “Is security clearance part of vetting the candidates”, noted the opening question of a recent NDP reddit chat. The subhead in the post noted, “After the PP [Pierre Poilievre] debacle, must... Continue Reading →
Is Avi Lewis a war monger? Does he want to prolong the costliest proxy war in Canadian history? His campaign’s response to a question on Ukraine suggests as much. Two months ago the Canadian Alliance for Solidarity with Ukraine asked NDP leadership candidates a series of questions including “their position on those on the left... Continue Reading →
Doly Begum joining the Liberals exposes the No Difference Party. Coming days after the Ontario NDP deputy leader moderated a contentious federal leadership debate highlights how the party brass dedicates more energy excluding eco-socialists than ecocidal capitalists. Yesterday, Begum announced she would run for the Liberals federally in an upcoming Scarborough by-election. Losing a longstanding... Continue Reading →
Is it pro-working class to subsidize billionaires? Do workers benefit from naval belligerence? NDP leadership candidate Rob Ashton supports giving huge subsidies to the most controversial capitalists in the Maritimes so the navy can fire long range missiles in US-led wars. On X and at an NDP debate in Toronto Saturday Ashton celebrated the Stephen... Continue Reading →
Donald Trump’s naked imperial aggression in Venezuela highlights the need for anti-imperialism in the NDP leadership race. While Pierre Poilievre “congratulated” Trump for “successfully arresting narco-terrorist and socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro”, Mark Carney “welcomed” the US kidnapping and bombings that killed scores. Yesterday Carney began his statement on Venezuela by noting, “One of the first... Continue Reading →
Does Avi Lewis “profoundly disagree” with my campaign’s call to shut down the tar sands? Or to convert Real Estate Investment Trust units into co-ops? Or to expand indigenous jurisdiction? Or to eliminate billionaires? Or did Avi just want to distance himself from an anti-imperialist who has been widely smeared for challenging power? In a... Continue Reading →
The year of Canada’s radical militarist turn. 2025 was also “the year the No Debate Party refused to discuss this most significant political development”. “History will view 2025 as the year that our allied capital markets and banks swung full force supporting defence and security," explained Kevin Reed, president of the development research group for... Continue Reading →
“I think Yves should be allowed to run”. That would have been a simple, principled, statement from Avi Lewis. Nonetheless, his criticism of the unelected three person NDP vetting committee’s exclusion of our insurgent campaign adds to the pressure on the Federal Council to intervene against the subversion of party democracy. Yesterday Lewis emailed a... Continue Reading →
The NDP vetters are either comfortable with being anti-Palestinian or embarrassingly ignorant. As a rationale for rejecting my leadership application, the NDP’s unelected three person vetting committee asserted I “repeatedly called to abolish Canada’s list of terrorist organizations, which would remove a key national condemnation of groups that have violated international human rights law.” Yes,... Continue Reading →
The NDP’s almighty vetters are incompetent. As a reason for rejecting my leadership application, the unelected three person vetting committee wrote that I “expressed an intention to run for the Green Party of Canada” while campaigning for NDP leader. That’s odd. Is a Green Party leadership race taking place? Or maybe I announced early to... Continue Reading →
“Pro-Palestinian activist Yves Engler barred from running for NDP leadership”, noted the Canadian Press. The headline should have added “once again”. At the NDP’s recent leadership debate in Montreal there wasn’t a single question about the Canadian-backed slaughter in Gaza. And none of candidate on the debate stage raised the subject. Heather McPherson talked about... Continue Reading →
Up is down. Right is left. International law is whatever empire says it is. Democracy is following our rules. The audacity, chauvinism and absurdity of the NDP vetting committee is a sight to behold. To justify denying party members the right to choose whether they want me to lead the party, the three-person backroom committee... Continue Reading →
Tomorrow night there will be a large rally against Canadian racism. Craig Mokhiber, Vijay Prashad, Carmen Rodriguez and many others will speak at “Internationalism Belongs in NDP Leadership Race”. The online rally is a reaction to the three-person backroom NDP vetting committee possibly blocking a campaign and candidate that has aggressively challenged racist Canadian foreign policy.... Continue Reading →
Would it be racist for the NDP to exclude a white cis male who played Junior A hockey from its leadership race? Maybe so, if one considers it from a Haitian or Palestinian perspective. On November 10, I formally submitted to NDP vetting. It’s now up to the three-person vetting committee to decide if party... Continue Reading →
A new book on Canada’s role in the destruction of Libya should embarrass the NDP and prompt members to ask tough questions of leadership candidates. Would Avi Lewis, Rob Ashton or Heather McPherson have promoted the destruction of the North African nation? Targeting Libya: Canadian Dams, Canadian Bombs is the definitive account of Canada’s significant... Continue Reading →
The NDP needs to rekindle the anti-capitalist thinking and activist energy that spurred its creation. That logic has shaped my campaign’s recently released platform. In July 1933 the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) met in Regina for its first national convention. About 130 delegates approved what became known as the Regina Manifesto. It said, “genuine international... Continue Reading →
The NDP’s greatest achievement was bitterly condemned at the time. It contributed to the party’s defeat in the next election. The subject has some broad lessons for my internationalist, anti-capitalist, insurgent campaign to lead the NDP. The first lesson is you can win even if you lose. Another lesson is if you confront entrenched power,... Continue Reading →
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