OTTAWA — NDP Leader Avi Lewis said Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu’s defection from the Conservatives to the Liberals shows why Canada still needs the NDP to be a progressive voice in Parliament.
Lewis said Gladu is by all accounts “a very nice person with extreme social conservative views” and her addition to the Liberal caucus raises the question of whether it’s still a progressive party.
“This just speaks to the essential need, the fundamental need for the NDP in today’s Canada,” he said. “Because who is going to keep the focus on the crisis of the cost of living, on the struggle of everyday Canadians, on actually winning Tommy Douglas’ dream of universal health care from head to toe and make changes we need to make as a country.”
Lewis, who does not have a seat in the House of Commons, said his party will outline a set of proposals on Monday “laser focused” on the cost of living, particularly the price of groceries.
The new NDP leader said he’s been having conversations with the caucus over the last 24 hours about House roles, including parliamentary lead, and announcements will be made soon.
Lewis said he plans to spend next week in Ottawa, when the House is scheduled to reconvene after a two-week break, before beginning to travel the country to rebuild the NDP from the ground up.
The NDP holds just six seats in the House of Commons.
With the Liberals in a good position to get a majority government through three byelections being held on Monday, Lewis said the NDP will offer a strong contrast to both the Liberals and Conservatives.
“I think that we need a voice on the progressive side of the spectrum to hold this government to account and to provide an alternative to the Conservatives, who are in crisis because a lot of their policies and a lot of their brand has been stolen by the Liberals,” he said.
“People don’t want a two-party state. They certainly don’t want a two-party state where the two parties are very similar.”
Lewis said the party’s grassroots members are energized and he will look to use that momentum to push the NDP back into the broader national conversation.
Lewis decisively won the NDP leadership last month in Winnipeg on the first ballot, nearly doubling the vote count of his closest rival, Alberta MP Heather McPherson.
Just days after his victory, Lewis’ father, former diplomat and Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis, died at the age of 88 after a lengthy illness. The elder Lewis was diagnosed with stomach cancer eight years ago.
“When he was originally diagnosed he was given three months to live, so he had been beating the odds for a very long time. And when I told him I was going to run for leader, he was like, ‘I’m going to stay alive and see you win,'” Lewis said.
“It is truly miraculous that he hung on and I was able to call him after I got off stage after that first speech.”
After his father’s death, Lewis put some of his initial leadership plans on hold so he could spend time with his family.
Those plans included setting up meetings with provincial NDP leaders.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck issued statements distancing themselves from Lewis over energy policy just minutes after his victory.
Beck originally said she would not meet with Lewis unless he publicly reversed his opposition to new pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals.
Beck later said she reached out to arrange a call with Lewis after his father’s death.
Lewis said he would like to meet with his provincial counterparts in person, and work is underway to set up meetings in the future.
“We have some deep disagreements on the question of fossil fuel expansion. I had never called for the shutting down of any industry in Canada in an abrupt way, certainly not the oil and gas industry,” he said.
“In fact, we’ve talked about making sure that every single worker is taken care of before they’re asked to transition. There need to be good family-supporting unionized jobs waiting for them.”
Lewis’s leadership platform talked about a “Green Jobs Transfer” aimed at funding jobs in clean energy and home retrofits like heat pump installation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2026.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
