The NDP took a drubbing in the last federal election, suffering its worst defeat in history. The party lost 17 seats, with its share of the popular vote falling by two-thirds to just 6.3 per cent.
Some of that was because many Canadians got spooked by Donald Trump’s 51st state rhetoric, so they rallied behind the Liberal party to prevent a Conservative win. But part of it was also because, as many within the NDP openly admitted, the party had lost its way - it was no longer representing the interests of regular Canadians.
At the same time, in Manitoba, premier Wab Kinew has been enjoying some pretty significant support. He’s regularly showing up as the most popular premier in the country in polls, an obvious beacon of success for the NDP in Canada.
That popularity is the result of his tackling the issue that is top of mind for the vast majority Canadians: affordability.
Since taking office in 2023, Kinew’s government has passed a raft of pro-consumer and anti-monopoly legislation. From taking on grocery chains and the restrictive land contracts that prevent competition, to banning surveillance pricing and giving farmers the ability to repair their own tractors, the province been on a mission to counter the effects of market concentration.
The federal party and Kinew’s counterparts in the other provinces have not only taken notice, but they’re adopting the same playbook.
This past spring in Winnipeg, Avi Lewis won the federal NDP leadership and has since adopted many of the same positions on a national level. He’s in favour of municipally run grocery stores, a total ban on surveillance pricing, and publicly owned telecom providers, among other measures.
In Ontario, Stiles is pushing a similar agenda. Her party has introduced bills on right to repair, cutting taxes on groceries and the establishment of programs to cut energy bills.
She joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on how the NDP is tying a hoped-for rebound to a focus on competition and affordability issues.
