Juno News


Juno News Investigates： Who is Avi Lewis？


Episode Stats


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Avi Lewis is the new leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, a left-wing political party that holds the balance of power after the 2025 federal election. But he s more than just a smooth-talking social justice activist, because once you look past the polished image, we see that Avi s father, grandfather, and even great-grandfather set him down this political path. And his agenda could radically reshape Canada.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
00:00:00.000 Our NDP has a different offer for this country.
00:00:05.440 Our plan is to trump-proof the economy by investing massively in Canadian economic independence,
00:00:12.140 using the unmatched power of public ownership to ensure the fundamentals of a good life.
00:00:21.300 A network of public providers for food, phones, and internet.
00:00:30.000 A public housing developer and public construction companies to build millions of non-market homes.
00:00:38.400 A 21st century electrical grid, an EV bus revolution, and a heat pump in every home built with Canadian steel, creating tens of thousands of unionized jobs.
00:00:52.360 On Sunday, March 29, 2026, Avi Lewis was declared leader of the new Democratic Party.
00:00:58.800 The NDP, as you know, is Canada's left-wing political party, and it holds the balance of power after the 2025 federal election where Mark Kearney's Liberals were held to a minority government.
00:01:11.040 Now, for a party that only holds six seats in Parliament and only received about 6% of the vote in the last election, this party and its new leader hold a tremendous amount of power in Canada.
00:01:22.720 So who is Avi Lewis? Well, he's the new leader of the NDP, a former journalist, climate activist,
00:01:29.280 and a familiar face in the legacy media, especially for older Canadians who remember him fondly from
00:01:35.600 his days as a CBC host. But he's more than just a smooth speaking social justice activist,
00:01:41.840 because once you look past the polished image, we see that Avi Lewis is a Justin Trudeau type
00:01:48.160 character whose father, grandfather, and even great-grandfather set him down this political
00:01:54.960 path. And his agenda could radically reshape Canada.
00:02:04.160 Abby Lewis didn't just stumble into politics. He was born into it. Abby Lewis was born in 1967
00:02:10.720 into one of Canada's most politically connected left-wing families. His roots in social politics
00:02:17.200 go back even further.
00:02:18.880 Well, I come from a long tradition, a multi-generation tradition of Jewish anti-Zionism.
00:02:25.920 My great-grandfather was a leader in the Jewish Labour Bund, which was founded in 1897.
00:02:32.080 His great-grandfather, Moshi Lewis, was a leader in the General Jewish Labour Bund,
00:02:38.000 a socialist movement in Eastern Europe, a movement built on class struggle,
00:02:42.560 labor activism, and radical politics. After fleeing political violence in Eastern Europe,
00:02:48.480 he brought those radical ideas to Canada, embedding himself in the socialist labor organizing movement.
00:02:54.880 This isn't just activism, it's ideology passed down generation after generation.
00:03:00.320 The legacy didn't stop there. Avi's grandfather, David Lewis, helped build modern left-wing
00:03:06.320 politics in Canada. He was the national secretary of the Cooperative Commonwealth
00:03:11.440 Federation, the CCF, a more radical socialist predecessor to the modern NDP. He became the
00:03:18.320 second leader of that party after Tommy Douglas and led the NDP from 1971 to 1975. He helped shape
00:03:25.940 the NDP and its ideology and was eventually awarded the Order of Canada. And while he
00:03:31.940 moderated some of the movement's more extreme tendency, he still fundamentally believed in
00:03:36.720 socialism. Then came Avi's father, Stephen Lewis, leader of the Ontario NDP, a career spent not just
00:03:44.120 in politics, but in global socialist networks, including becoming the Canadian ambassador to
00:03:49.720 the United Nations. Sadly, a few days after Avi was elected leader of the NDP, news broke that
00:03:56.020 his father, Stephen, passed away at age 88. Avi addressed his father's ailing health a few nights
00:04:02.160 earlier in this rather touching clip from the NDP convention.
00:04:06.900 But he told me something kind of heartbreaking that David, his father, said to him once.
00:04:13.440 David said, son, not in my lifetime, but maybe in yours.
00:04:18.340 And recently my dad told me the same thing.
00:04:21.200 Not in my lifetime, maybe in yours.
00:04:24.640 Well, dad, I refuse to tell that to my kid.
00:04:32.160 We cannot wait another generation.
00:04:34.940 We've got to start winning now.
00:04:38.600 Stephen Lewis knew that radical socialism in Canada
00:04:42.320 wouldn't happen in his lifetime.
00:04:44.720 But Avi is convinced it will happen in his.
00:04:49.040 Three generations, one ideological through line.
00:04:52.960 And now, Avi Lewis.
00:04:55.200 Before politics, Avi Lewis built his reputation
00:04:58.120 in the media, CBC, CTV,
00:05:01.400 and then Al Jazeera, yes, the Qatari state broadcaster.
00:05:05.920 He became a familiar face, a credible voice.
00:05:09.200 But over time, something changed.
00:05:11.980 His work increasingly focused on one radical idea,
00:05:16.520 that capitalism itself is the problem.
00:05:20.280 He's not trying to reform the system, folks.
00:05:22.700 He wants to replace it.
00:05:24.460 This became undeniable in 2015.
00:05:28.020 That's when Avi Lewis co-authored something called The Leap Manifesto, alongside his wife, successful author and radical activist, Naomi Klein.
00:05:37.180 The Leap Manifesto called for ending all new fossil fuel projects, transitioning to a fully renewable economy, good luck with that, massive wealth redistribution, and expanding government control over key sectors of the economy.
00:05:52.700 Sound familiar?
00:05:53.180 there? Fundamentally, he called for a complete transformation of Canada's economy. Not gradual
00:06:00.120 change, not incremental reform, a radical leap. Hence the name. Today, Avi Lewis is more outspoken
00:06:07.760 than ever. He frames politics through the lens of oppression and capitalism as the root cause.
00:06:13.980 He says he believes in left-wing populism, targeting billionaires and economic systems.
00:06:18.720 He opposes fossil fuels, criticizes Western foreign policy, and pushes for government-led economic restructuring, including public ownership of key parts of our economy.
00:06:29.940 This isn't subtle. It's a clear ideological project.
00:06:34.320 So what does it all mean?
00:06:35.740 Well, Avi Lewis isn't just another politician.
00:06:38.120 He represents something bigger, a continuation of a political tradition rooted in socialism and adapted for modern day.
00:06:46.900 He's not just another populist left-winger calling for government action, but knowing it will never work.
00:06:52.580 He actually believes it.
00:06:54.060 And he's been training for this moment his entire life.
00:06:58.200 So the question really isn't who is Avi Lewis.
00:07:01.180 We know that.
00:07:02.220 The question is, will Canadians fall for it again?
00:07:05.920 Will they follow another charismatic left-wing politician from a famous political family down this road to Serfdom?
00:07:14.620 For Juno News, I'm Candice Malcolm. Thank you and God bless.
00:07:22.000 To support our journalism and to help us do more investigations like this,
00:07:26.580 please consider upgrading and becoming a premium subscriber.
00:07:30.380 Help fund independent journalism and help us get the truth out there.
00:07:34.300 Thank you.