Avi Lewis vows to focus on cost of living and dismisses division within the NDP

But Lewis, 58, projected confidence there’s more that unites than divides New Democrats, proudly embraced descriptions of him as a left-wing populist, and said his door “is open” to Beck and Nenshi, even as he was unapologetic about his opposition to fossil fuel development.

“I do believe that hard conversations are necessary. I’m a person who actually welcomes them. I think that we need to have them.”

However, in pointing to his margin of victory that saw him win with 56 per cent on the first ballot, Lewis underscored it was “the largest mandate for any NDP leadership race in history,” and was based on clear opposition to grocery, banking and telecommunications monopolies, support for health care and unionized jobs, and the need to “accelerate the transition” to renewable energy – an agenda he said he is obliged to advance, and one he suggested can have spillover benefits for provincial cousins.

“We think we can support our provincial sections best by winning, winning more seats and rising in the polls and reaching more Canadians.”

Lewis, however, quoted his conversations with Kinew, the Manitoba premier who opened the federal party weekend convention with a warning that the NDP must focus on winning and electability, and insisted that democratic “debates within our party are a sign of health, (it) means our tent is growing, our coalition is growing.”

“We’re New Democrats, and the overwhelming priority for us is a dignified life for every working person in this country, awash in wealth, where people are really struggling.”

“We don’t have to agree on every little thing in order to do big things together. So I can’t wait to do big things on housing, on health care, and on the cost of living with Carla (Beck) and Naheed (Nenshi) and all of the provincial sections across the country.”

Because he does not have a seat in the House of Commons, Lewis said he will draw a salary from the federal party despite the fact it has a significant estimated $13 million debt to repay. 

He said he looks forward to retiring that debt and underscored his fundraising prowess, saying his leadership campaign raised more than a $1 million.

But Lewis downplayed any rush to run for a seat in Parliament even though there are three upcoming byelections on April 13 — two in Toronto and one in Quebec — saying his first priority is to introduce himself and pitch the party’s policies to the rest of the country.

“When the caucus and I feel that the party is at a point where I need it in the House of Commons, I will look for the first available winnable seat. And that moment is not now,” he said.

But it was his articulate defence of left-wing populism that characterized a bold and unapologetic new approach that Lewis stands to bring to the political landscape that most marked his debut as leader on Monday in a lengthy news conference.

The New Democrat leader, who has twice lost bids to win a seat in B.C., outlined his view that political populism as a concept is widely misunderstood as “as a right wing phenomenon, because right wing populism has been on the rise for the last couple of decades.”

“But at its core, populism is the political view that society is controlled by a tiny elite. This is clearly the case when we look at the five huge grocery chains that dominate 80 per cent of the market, the six great giant banks that made $70 billion in profits last year, the three telecommunications companies that dominate cellphones and internet connectivity in this country.”

He differentiated his brand of populist politics, saying “right-wing populists imagine conspiracies of immigrants or Jews or a tiny class of puppeteers who control the world. Left-wing populists believe that capitalism concentrates wealth and power in the fewest hands, and we need policies and a response that actually responds to the needs of the 99 per cent of us.”

Pointing to the success of the mayor of New York City, or the Green Party leader in the U.K., Lewis, who is married to author and activist Naomi Klein, said left wing populism is “starting to work around the world.”

“My belief is that progressive populism is truly a political philosophy based in the preciousness of every human life and the respect for fundamental human rights. Right wing populism is not. It demonizes small groups of people and I think we’re I appreciate the question, because I hope there is some curiosity in the storytelling class in Canada, about what left-wing populism can offer.”

Lewis, who is Jewish, addressed head-on criticism that he is “anti-Israel,” saying he comes from a “multi-generation tradition of Jewish anti-Zionism” going back to his great-grandfather, adding there is a “significant number of Canadian Jews who feel the way I do.”

Lewis said he feels “so at home in the NDP, a party which has expressed moral clarity over the genocide in Gaza consistently as we express our outrage over the illegal attack on Iran, which is destabilizing our daily lives and geopolitics and the world economy.”

“This is part and parcel of being anti-war, pro-international law and fundamental human rights, and that’s my legacy as a Jewish person. It’s part of my culture, and it’s part of my Jewishness,” he said, adding his position has been clear, consistent and “pro-human life.”

On Monday he praised his predecessor Jagmeet Singh, interim leader Don Davies, and his caucus opponent in the race, Heather McPherson, who he beat by nearly double the votes in the leadership race.

McPherson is the party’s foreign affairs critic, and Lewis said he has not yet decided on what her role will be in the future. 

Lewis said Monday he looked Boulerice “in the eyes” and, miming grabbing him by the collar, pleaded with him to “stay with us.”

Boulerice told him no final decision had been made, Lewis said.