Quicksketch: Who’s who in the NDP leadership race

By Canadian Press on March 28, 2026.

WINNIPEG — The next NDP leader will be announced on Sunday. There are five candidates on the ballot and voting concludes Saturday.

Here’s a quick look at the candidates and how the last six months have gone for them.

Avi Lewis

Work: Lewis is a documentary filmmaker, activist and journalist for outlets ranging from Much Music to Al Jazeera.

Campaign summary: Lewis says he wants to lead the NDP back to political relevance with a platform focused on big ideas like publicly owned grocery stores and aggressive action against climate change.

Past political experience: Lewis ran for the NDP in Vancouver-area ridings in both 2021 and 2025, losing both times.

Party financial returns indicate Lewis is far and away the fundraising leader and he has secured high-profile endorsements from Manitoba MP Leah Gazan and prominent environmentalist David Suzuki.

Heather McPherson

Work: McPherson is a three-term MP who has represented Edmonton-Strathcona since 2019. Before entering politics she spent 20 years in the non-profit sector working on sustainable development and international co-operation.

Campaign summary: McPherson is pitching herself as someone who knows how to get people elected and says she wants to work with the NDP’s provincial branches to get more New Democrats in the House of Commons.

Past political experience: McPherson has served as the party’s whip in the House and as foreign affairs critic, among other roles.

McPherson is in second place in fundraising and her campaign is framing the last days of the race as a contest between herself and Lewis. She’s picked up endorsements from B.C. MP Gord Johns and former Alberta premier Rachel Notley.

Rob Ashton

Work: Ashton spent more than 30 years as a dockworker and is the national president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

Campaign summary: Ashton says he is looking to bring the party back to its blue collar union roots with a labour-focused message, after the NDP lost ground with those voters over the past few elections.

Past political experience: While Ashton is no stranger to the world of organized labour and has engaged with the federal labour minister, this is his first foray into federal politics.

Ashton is in third place on fundraising and has secured key endorsements from groups like the Canadian Labour Congress and United Steelworkers — both founding members of the federal New Democratic Party.

Tanille Johnston

Work: Johnston is a social worker and a city councillor in Campbell River, B.C.

Campaign summary: Johnston is running on making the party more accessible, especially in rural and remote areas, with a pitch for increased outreach and the elimination of membership fees.

Past political experience: Johnston ran in the B.C. riding of North Island-Powell River in the last federal election and lost to Conservative Aaron Gunn.

She is one of two self-described “underdog” candidates in the race. Johnston says she’s had to keep working at her day job while campaigning, so her window to tour nationally has been limited to vacation days and unpaid days off.

Tony McQuail

Work: McQuail has run an organic farm in Huron County, Ont. for more than 40 years. He came to Canada from the U.S. in 1971 at age 18 due to his opposition to the Vietnam War.

Campaign summary: McQuail is running on building a greener Canada and electoral reform.

Past political experience: McQuail has run for NDP federally five times between 1980 and 2019, and for the Ontario NDP twice, but has never been elected.

McQuail is the second self-described underdog in the race and has done much of his campaigning online, due to his limited travel budget and the need to maintain his farm.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2026

David Baxter, The Canadian Press