Who are the candidates for the federal NDP leadership?

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Federal New Democrats will choose their new leader in about two months, a role with plenty of challenges after the party was reduced to just seven seats last April.

Five candidates have been approved to run: Rob Ashton, Tanille Johnston, Avi Lewis, Heather McPherson and Tony McQuail.

Bianca Mugyenyi, the wife of activist Yves Engler, said she has applied to run for the leadership after the party barred her husband from doing so. She said she is being vetted now.

NDP spokesperson Aaron Zerfas said the party does not confirm who has sent in a leadership application.

For the next few weeks, the leadership campaigns will be largely focused on selling memberships and fundraising. The membership cutoff to vote is Jan. 28, which is also when the last $25,000 instalment of the $100,000 entry fee is due.

On Feb. 19, the candidates will take to the stage for the final official debate ahead of ranked-ballot voting. The winner will be announced March 29 at the party’s Winnipeg convention.

Here are the approved candidates, in alphabetical order:

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Rob Ashton

Rob Ashton is the national president of International Longshore Workers Union Canada, a position he has held since 2016. He has been a dockworker in Vancouver for more than three decades. He has never been elected to public office.

Key policies: Mr. Ashton argues the party needs to return to its labour roots. He wants workers to have mandatory seats on corporate boards and says Canada should eliminate the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and replace it with one that will better protect workers.

He has also promised to advocate for “a job for everyone who wants one.”

Mr. Ashton said Canada should triple the number of public, non-profit and co-op homes and increase non-market housing supply to 20 per cent by 2040. He also said dedicated starter homes should be built for first-time buyers. In addition, he wants Canadian materials to be used for projects overall, not just in housing, creating unionized jobs.

Notable endorsements: Mr. Ashton was endorsed by the United Steelworkers union in December, an important show of support from a group that is a founding member of the party.

He has also been endorsed by B.C. Transportation and Transit Minister Mike Farnworth, who also serves as government house leader and former MP Bonita Zarrillo, among others.

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Tanille Johnston

Tanille Johnston is a social worker and is currently the director of programs at the First Nations Health Authority in B.C. She also serves as a city councillor in Campbell River, B.C. and ran unsuccessfully in the last federal election. From We Wai Kai First Nation, she is the only Indigenous woman in the race.

Key policies: Ms. Johnston believes that Canada should implement electoral reform and advocates for proportional representation and the creation of a non-partisan citizens’ assembly. She supports free postsecondary education and says Canada can address affordability in part by strengthening competition laws and creating more unionized jobs.

She would also make the NDP more accessible by proposing free memberships and conventions and implementing a “member-driven” platform and strategy.

Notable endorsements: Ms. Johnston has been endorsed by former Manitoba deputy premier Eric Robinson, as well as Mississauga First Nation Chief Brent Niganobe, among others.

Ms. Johnston co-operates with Tony McQuail so that they can reach the fundraising requirements. They have also told their supporters to vote for each other as their second choice on the ballot.

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Avi Lewis

Avi Lewis is an activist, documentary filmmaker and former television host. He is the son of former Ontario NDP leader and diplomat Stephen Lewis and grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis and is married to author and activist Naomi Klein.

Mr. Lewis is the co-author of the controversial Leap Manifesto, which called for a shift away from fossil fuels and infrastructure projects such as pipelines that perpetuate reliance on those fuels. Mr. Lewis attended the 2016 NDP convention to champion the manifesto, which was a source of friction within the party. He has twice run unsuccessfully as a federal candidate, most recently during the April election.

Key policies: Mr. Lewis has focused on a populist message, launching his campaign with a video attacking corporate CEOs.

He says Canada should implement a Green New Deal, which includes creating a million jobs by investing two per cent of Canada’s GDP to fight climate change.

He has also advocated for the creation of publicly owned grocery stores to address affordability concerns and wants a public builder in Canada to create one million social, co-op, non-profit and supportive homes within five years. He also says Canada should expand the universal health-care system.

Notable endorsements: Mr. Lewis has been endorsed by Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan and environmentalist David Suzuki, as well as former deputy leader Libby Davies, former MP Svend Robinson, and Ontario MPP Jessica Bell.

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Heather McPherson

Heather McPherson, an MP, was first elected federally in 2019 and has served as the party’s foreign affairs critic, whip and deputy house leader. Before entering politics she was the executive director of the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation.

Key policies: Ms. McPherson’s pitch has been focused on making the party a viable option to more Canadians. She said the NDP “should make sure there’s a seat at the table for everyone, not push people out or shrink to purity tests.”

She wants Canada to ban corporate ownership of single-family homes and large rental portfolios and to introduce a bill of rights for renters. She also says the country should create a federal Crown corporation to act as a national public builder, which would focus on creating co-op and affordable homes.

She said the country should create a community work placement program to guarantee paid and practical placements for young Canadians. In addition, she advocates extending the Canada Student Grant to non-university learners and eliminating post-secondary tuition fees.

She also announced she had prepared legislation that would ban “employer-dominated” unions and has proposed changes to strengthen local riding associations.

Notable endorsements: Ms. McPherson was endorsed last week by former Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus, who placed second in the 2017 leadership race.

She also has the backing of former Alberta premier Rachel Notley and former Alberta cabinet minister Shannon Phillips, as well as former St John’s East MP Jack Harris and former South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings, among others.

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Tony McQuail

Tony McQuail is an organic farmer living in Huron County, Ont. He has run five times federally and twice provincially for the NDP, but has never won. He did, however, serve three terms as a Huron County Board of Education trustee during the 1980s.

Key policies: Mr. McQuail positions himself as a “green progressive.” He has said Canada needs to move to an electoral system that has proportional representation and advocates for the implementation of a wealth tax and closing tax loopholes, which would be invested in expanding the country’s universal health-care system.

He also backs establishing a universal basic income, as well as communal and sustainable housing arrangements.

Endorsements: Mr. McQuail has been endorsed by Matthew Van Ankum, who has run twice as the Green Party candidate for Huron-Bruce. Ms. Johnston has also encouraged her supporters to choose Mr. McQuail second on their ranked ballots.

With a report from Marie Woolf