By Josh Bizjak, Executive Director
A record number of NDP members across Canada are currently voting for who will lead the federal party into the future. Although "rebuilding" seems to be the word of the moment, the NDP must remain committed to its roots: the pursuit of power.
Talk of forming an NDP government right now may seem deluded. However, despite what some revisionists might say the party was established with a sole purpose, to form a federal government.
This is not to sugar coat the sobering reality. Since 2015, millions of voters have parked their votes elsewhere. The party suffered our worst electoral defeat in 2025.
Whoever wins the NDP leadership race at the end of March will lead a parliamentary party without official status, a caucus with few resources, troubling finances, and the residual hurt of losing Nunavut MP Lori Idlout to the Liberals.
So yes, the dream of forming Canada’s first social democratic government seems as remote and fanciful as it has in living memory.
Working at the head of a Foundation dedicated to the legacies of political giants like Tommy Douglas and Jack Layton encourages one to take a longer view.
From its founding, this much has been clear: to confront concentrated wealth and power; to pursue equality and uphold human rights; to fight for the interests of working people; to build vibrant public programs – the NDP must not only influence Parliament, it must govern.
It is our responsibility to possess and communicate a clear-eyed vision of one day forming a people’s government that puts our principles into action.
That vision is what animated the five-time Premier of Saskatchewan, Tommy Douglas. His nomination speech in 1961 to the founding convention of the federal party made a compelling case worth reflecting on.
“I notice that I am being described as a right-winger” the gifted orator thundered. “It has been said that I am lukewarm towards socialization and public ownership. Well, the record speaks for itself. My colleagues and I have established more public ownershipship in the province of Saskatchewan than any government in Canada either past or present.” Douglas reminded his audience these things were accomplished by first being in power.
Canadians may find Tommy Douglas sparring with accusations of being “right-wing” surprising. Then as now, divisions within the party fuelled debates about whether the NDP should be Parliament’s conscience or vie for power. Douglas shunned this dichotomy. He understood that to win, the party must present a program that appeals to a majority of Canadians across geographical, class, and other divides.
Douglas’ successor David Lewis, made clear his quest for electoral power rejecting ideological purity and the NDP as a protest party. As leader he negotiated with the minority Liberals and delivered an expansion of pensions and family allowances, the creation of Petro Canada and the foreign investment review agency, landmark campaign finance reform, and more.
For Lewis, however, these gains were but a taste of what could be achieved in government. He knew the NDP needed to appeal more broadly, and elect MPs in every corner of the country.
In 1975 a mighty force in Ed Broadbent was chosen to lead. No one articulated the imperative of pursuing power better - for Broadbent, forming a government was the only way to correct the many decades of elitist two party rule.
I worked closely with Ed, and I can attest that he believed the party’s core principles about justice and equality mattered immensely, and should not be compromised for political expedience. Ed understood the need for respect; for genuine understanding that most people are unmoved by grand ideological projects, and turned off by abstractions, arrogance, and condescension.
“In the real world of democracy, people have short-run problems they need solved,” he reflected in his final book; Seeking Social Democracy. His task as leader was to “communicate a social democratic vision to ordinary Canadians as plainly and directly as [he] could in a way that would be attractive and relevant to their daily lives.”
A similar respect for voters fueled the orange wave in 2011 and took Jack Layton into the official opposition benches. His final letter to Canadians, a clarion call to realize the dream of a social democratic government resonated across the country.
Jack refused to give into despair. He never strayed from the original vision, he ran to be Prime Minister. Difficult as it may seem, New Democrats must channel his spirit of optimism and clarity of purpose once more.
Moving forward New Democrats will have to fight to build back trust and the confidence of the majority of voters riding by riding, poll by poll - founded in a plan for electoral success.
Our values demand a political program focused on improving the lives of the majority. But the pursuit of power must remain the north star on the horizon.
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First Published in The Hill Times March 23, 2026
https://www.hilltimes.com/2026/03/25/for-the-ndp-the-pursuit-of-power-must-remain-the-north-star
From all of us at the Foundation, we wish you a joyful Pride month filled with celebration and love. As we celebrate queer love, joy and success we must also take the time to reflect on the history that has led us to where we are today.
The Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation mourns the passing of Stephen Lewis with profound sorrow and deep gratitude for a life of extraordinary service. In Stephen Lewis, we have lost not only a towering figure in Canadian public life, but a giant among progressives, an intellectual of rare brilliance, and a moral voice whose clarity and conviction helped shape generations of thought and action in pursuit of social justice.
It is with the heaviest hearts today upon learning of former BC Premier John Horgan’s passing.
