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Or sign-in if you have an account.Leader of NDP Avi Lewis speaks during a press conference at the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /PostmediaWhen Avi Lewis was elected leader of the New Democratic Party just over two months ago, he issued a boast that was almost Trumpian in its braggadocio.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Accountor“Canada, mark your calendar. The NDP comeback starts now,” he said.But it turns out, he was right. A Liaison Strategies poll released on Monday had NDP support at 15 per cent, with the party leading among 18–34 year olds. To put that in context, the NDP won the support of 1.2-million voters in the 2025 election. If a vote were held tomorrow, with a similar turnout, at this level of polling, the party would win nearly three million votes.Since May 15, nine opinion polls have the NDP in double-digit territory, in large part because of a cooling in sentiment on the left for the Liberals.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe polls suggest that Lewis is becoming more familiar to Canadians and a lot of them apparently quite like what they are seeing: ostensibly, an articulate, telegenic, bilingual leader, arguing for a better deal for workers and the young, particularly when it comes to the adoption of artificial intelligence.He has not acclimatized to national politics yet, as he showed in his press conference when asked about the Alberta separatist movement. “The separatist movement in Alberta has no point of comparison with the historic sovereignty movement in Quebec,” he said. “It’s a MAGA-aligned, potentially funded, disruptive movement… It’s not the same thing.” He could hardly have done more for the separatists in Alberta if he had called them “deplorables.”However, his “humans-first AI strategy”, his proposed ban on surveillance pricing (where companies use personal data to determine prices), and his call to remove the Canadian Labour Code’s article 107 (which gives the minister discretionary authority to order striking workers back to work) have all positioned Lewis as being well within the parameters of NDP convention as a pragmatic democratic socialist.Last week, he promised the Liberals “a very hot summer” if they limit the right to strike, which he said is “under attack” after the government held consultations on the Labour Code.Lewis said the Liberals have been “flooding the zone” with legislation attacking environmental, worker and Indigenous rights since they gained their majority.“There is a reasonable fear that they’re going after the right to strike as a whole, or at least on major projects,” he said.This is a smart position that any NDP leader in the last 40 years, from Ed Broadbent to Jack Layton, would likely have taken.But voters should not be fooled. Lewis is not Broadbent or Layton; he is an unabashed proponent of what The Economist this week labelled “Gen Z socialism.” As his leadership platform revealed, Lewis wants to remake the economy with price controls on groceries and rent, impose hefty wealth taxes and nationalize grocery, telecom and pharma companies. He would pause the expansion of AI data centres and place an export tax on U.S.-bound fossil fuels.“This country is awash with wealth,” he said in his platform, “a fountain of wealth… but it’s not trickling down to working people. It’s stuck at the top, being hoarded by the corporate welfare bums.”His solution: “We need a government that has the courage and the political will to go after it.”The Economist noted that Lewis is part of a fresh wave of socialists, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.K. Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who don’t believe that economic growth is helping ordinary people; who think that spending should be paid for by the richest; and who are hostile to private enterprise.It is a seductive message, especially for the TikTok generation who can’t find a job or an affordable place to rent. It is likely to get more so, as AI starts to hit the job market in earnest. It appeals to the self-interest of a large swathe of society that feels it is being left behind, and it promises to make the people who are “winning” pay for it all.But it goes without saying that voters are being sold a pig in a poke. Rent controls would make the housing shortage worse; grocery stores that are already working on net profit margins of three or four per cent would cut back on choice; wealth taxes would deter investment and innovation, while driving up avoidance.The messy business of governing inevitably creates divisions, as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals are now discovering. But Carney’s goal of building the strongest economy in the G7 is the right one.Lewis talked in his press conference last week of the need to create a Canadian economy that is “safer, secure, more calm, more predictable and less disruptive.” That is hardly likely to happen if the government taxes and regulates everything that moves and subsidizes everything that stops moving.Milton Friedman had it right when he said, the record of history is clear. “There is no alternative way of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.”National Post Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.