Yves Engler speaks to supporters at the Montreal Courthouse on Nov. 28.Andrej Ivanov/The Globe and Mail
The NDP has rejected Yves Engler, an author and left-wing activist, from standing for the leadership for the party alleging he had harassed, intimidated and confronted elected officials. It also expressed concern he had echoed Russian state propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Engler was told at the end of last month that his application to join the leadership race had been rejected after consideration by the party’s vetting committee. He asked for a formal review of the decision.
But the NDP did not change its ruling, communications between the party and Mr. Engler show.
The committee cited a number of concerns about the socialist activist’s potential candidacy. In a confidential e-mail to Mr. Engler, seen by The Globe and Mail, the committee said one concern was that he had echoed “Russian state propaganda with respect to the Russo-Ukrainian war and Nato.”
In an interview, Mr. Engler a former union researcher and author of 13 books, denied the claim, saying he has publicly condemned on dozens of occasions Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as illegal and brutal. He added: “I have no sympathy for Vladimir Putin.”
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He said it should be up to the party membership to decide who succeeds Jagmeet Singh as leader.
“The notion that the three-person vetting committee would say that NDP members don’t have the right to choose .... that’s pretty Orwellian,” he said.
In its reasons for rejecting him, the NDP’s Leadership Vote Committee alleged Mr. Engler had made “comments consistent with antisemitic rhetoric.”
It also said he had repeated and amplified the term “Holocaust industry” to denigrate Holocaust remembrance efforts. Mr. Engler said the term was not coined by him but by a Jewish scholar whose family had perished in the Holocaust.
Mr. Engler’s lawyer Dimitri Lascaris said in the letter to the NDP committee charged with reviewing the decision that Mr. Engler had publicly condemned antisemitism on dozens of occasions.
The NDP had also cited concerns that Mr. Engler, who writes about international affairs, had called for the abolition of Canada’s list of terrorist organizations. Critics of the list, which includes some unions and human rights activists, have claimed it is politicized and gives the government powers to ban an organization that cannot fairly mount a defence.
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The NDP e-mail to Mr. Engler also expressed concern he had made “comments suggesting sympathy for the regime of former Syrian dictator, Bashar Al-Assad.” A lengthy letter sent by his lawyer to the party disputes the NDP’s claims.
Mr. Engler argued that the NDP should have allowed him to join the race along with MP Heather McPherson, Avi Lewis, Rob Ashton, Tanille Johnston and Tony McQuail so the membership could hear his policies.
“What are they scared of? If no one supports these ideas, if everyone just thinks I’m a Putin asset that denies the Rwandan genocide, that is antisemitic, that is whatever they’re claiming, then let members decide, and I’ll get no votes,” he said. “But I think they fully understand that there’s actually quite a bit of sympathy, certainly among NDP members, I think even the broader public, but certainly among NDP members for this.”
The NDP raised concerns Mr. Engler had intimidated party members and staff “by following people to their private accommodations and to private vehicles.” The party also alleged he had disruptively confronted elected officials in public and private spaces, interrupting meetings, events, and presentations.
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Among the Liberal MPs he followed to her vehicle was Anna Gainey, now secretary of state for Children and Youth. He posted a video to X in April that shows him following her down a street to her car while asking whether she had comment on Israel and Gaza. In the video, Ms. Gainey appears visibly distressed as she twice asks Mr. Engler to “Leave me alone” before getting into her vehicle. Mr. Engler has denied she was scared and said many police officers were close by. Ms. Gainey has declined to comment.
The legal letter to the NDP from Mr. Lascaris said “if people claim to be ‘intimidated’ by Mr. Engler despite his demonstrated commitment to non-violence,” and an absence of evidence that he has assaulted or threatened to assault anyone, “then the fault does not lie with Mr. Engler.”
Mr. Engler said he had raised the $100,000 entry fee to join the race. He said he has spent tens of thousands of dollars on his bid to enter the NDP race so far and is planning a speaking tour.
Asked whether he would return the money to those who donated in the expectation he would participate in the race to lead the NDP, he said he would give donations back to anyone who asked.
Lucy Watson, national director of the NDP, said in a statement “after reviewing Mr. Engler’s full application, the Leadership Vote Committee determined he did not meet the eligibility standards that apply to every applicant.”
“He exercised his right to request a Review, and an independent Review Committee upheld that decision.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include Avi Lewis in the list of approved NDP leadership candidates.