Doly Begum’s defection strengthens the case for Avi Lewis
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Doly Begum’s defection strengthens the case for Avi Lewis
As Begum showed her true colours with an opportunistic switch, Lewis embodies the kind of bold change the NDP desperately needs
Colin Bruce Anthes / February 9, 2026 / 5 min read
#Canada #CanadianPolitics #cdnpoli #NDP #NDP2026 #AviLewis #ONDP #OntarioPolitics #onpoli @avilewis
https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/doly-begums-defection-strengthens-the-case-for-avi-lewis
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Doly Begum’s defection strengthens the case for Avi Lewis
As Begum showed her true colours with an opportunistic switch, Lewis embodies the kind of bold change the NDP desperately needs
Colin Bruce Anthes / February 9, 2026 / 5 min read
#Canada #CanadianPolitics #cdnpoli #NDP #NDP2026 #AviLewis #ONDP #OntarioPolitics #onpoli @avilewis
https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/doly-begums-defection-strengthens-the-case-for-avi-lewis
@leftylabourtech @markgrieveson @avilewis The key point for me in this article:
“What is clear, however, is that the NDP leader must be able to show they represent a genuine alternative to neoliberalism, and that requires going beyond any federal or provincial branch of recent decades. The case for holding back, to the degree it ever existed, has fallen apart.”
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@leftylabourtech @markgrieveson @avilewis The key point for me in this article:
“What is clear, however, is that the NDP leader must be able to show they represent a genuine alternative to neoliberalism, and that requires going beyond any federal or provincial branch of recent decades. The case for holding back, to the degree it ever existed, has fallen apart.”
@uxmark @markgrieveson @avilewis
Agreed. From the get go I told anyone who would listen that I thought the Confidence and Supply Agreement was an epic strategic failure. Very little was achieved, and what was achieved was dragged out as long as possible and implemented in a minimalist neo-liberal way for the most part. And then of course Liberals claimed credit for those small positive elements of it.
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@uxmark @markgrieveson @avilewis
Agreed. From the get go I told anyone who would listen that I thought the Confidence and Supply Agreement was an epic strategic failure. Very little was achieved, and what was achieved was dragged out as long as possible and implemented in a minimalist neo-liberal way for the most part. And then of course Liberals claimed credit for those small positive elements of it.
@leftylabourtech Out of curiosity, what would you have preferred to see done at that time with the seat distribution at the time? I’m not trying to criticize your take, to be clear, I’m just not sure what a better option would have been, and I’d appreciate the insight.
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@uxmark @markgrieveson @avilewis
Agreed. From the get go I told anyone who would listen that I thought the Confidence and Supply Agreement was an epic strategic failure. Very little was achieved, and what was achieved was dragged out as long as possible and implemented in a minimalist neo-liberal way for the most part. And then of course Liberals claimed credit for those small positive elements of it.
@uxmark @markgrieveson @avilewis IMHO, the forces behind the McPherson and Ashton campaigns are very much of the same "ilk" as those who signed off on the CASA.
The NDP needs to shift sharply to the left or it will be dead in the water.
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@uxmark @markgrieveson @avilewis IMHO, the forces behind the McPherson and Ashton campaigns are very much of the same "ilk" as those who signed off on the CASA.
The NDP needs to shift sharply to the left or it will be dead in the water.
@leftylabourtech @markgrieveson @avilewis Yes! Shift sharply to the left, and shift power from its comfortable centralized establishment to its members.
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@leftylabourtech Out of curiosity, what would you have preferred to see done at that time with the seat distribution at the time? I’m not trying to criticize your take, to be clear, I’m just not sure what a better option would have been, and I’d appreciate the insight.
@Caution The NDP should have dealt with the Liberals on an "issue by issue" basis having them perpetually terrified of being pushed into an election. That's how the NDP dealt with the Liberals during 2019-21.
The COVID pandemic benefits during this period were a vast improvement over what the Liberals had planned i.e. dumping folks onto the inadequate EI system.
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@Caution The NDP should have dealt with the Liberals on an "issue by issue" basis having them perpetually terrified of being pushed into an election. That's how the NDP dealt with the Liberals during 2019-21.
The COVID pandemic benefits during this period were a vast improvement over what the Liberals had planned i.e. dumping folks onto the inadequate EI system.
@Caution During 2021-25 the NDP became notable for being cowardly and unwilling to bring down the increasingly unpopular Justin Trudeau Liberals with a clear left agenda.
The result was that voters couldn't distinguish between the Liberals and the NDP and threw their lot in with the Liberals in 2025 under Carney.
And Carney has shifted the Liberals even further to the right.
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@uxmark @markgrieveson @avilewis
Agreed. From the get go I told anyone who would listen that I thought the Confidence and Supply Agreement was an epic strategic failure. Very little was achieved, and what was achieved was dragged out as long as possible and implemented in a minimalist neo-liberal way for the most part. And then of course Liberals claimed credit for those small positive elements of it.
@leftylabourtech @uxmark @avilewis
I agree it's time now to move more left. But I felt CASA was a good thing. Biggest expansion in healthcare since hospital care and family doctors were covered. I'm certainly glad I've got my dental care card.
The way they ended it was idiotic. "I have ripped up the agreement with Justin Trudeau", said Singh. At that point the Liberals were not in breach of it; so there was no reason to "rip it up". And Singh looked ridiculous when he tried to fabricate reasons for ending it. Instead, he should have come up with an actual reason (IE, that unless there is "full implementation by 2025" -- 2025/01/01 -- of dental care as specified, he'll "rip up the agreement").
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@leftylabourtech @uxmark @avilewis
I agree it's time now to move more left. But I felt CASA was a good thing. Biggest expansion in healthcare since hospital care and family doctors were covered. I'm certainly glad I've got my dental care card.
The way they ended it was idiotic. "I have ripped up the agreement with Justin Trudeau", said Singh. At that point the Liberals were not in breach of it; so there was no reason to "rip it up". And Singh looked ridiculous when he tried to fabricate reasons for ending it. Instead, he should have come up with an actual reason (IE, that unless there is "full implementation by 2025" -- 2025/01/01 -- of dental care as specified, he'll "rip up the agreement").
@markgrieveson @uxmark @avilewis
My view is that these things could have been achieved with no CASA in place, just as the pandemic CERB benefits were achieved with no CASA.
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@markgrieveson @uxmark @avilewis
My view is that these things could have been achieved with no CASA in place, just as the pandemic CERB benefits were achieved with no CASA.
@leftylabourtech @uxmark @avilewis
CERB was temporary. Longer term stuff is trickier. For instance, the NDP had tried for years to get Lib governments to consider pharmacare. I have no faith that in the normal course of governing the Libs would have suddenly embraced it.
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@leftylabourtech @uxmark @avilewis
CERB was temporary. Longer term stuff is trickier. For instance, the NDP had tried for years to get Lib governments to consider pharmacare. I have no faith that in the normal course of governing the Libs would have suddenly embraced it.
@markgrieveson @uxmark @avilewis I have no confidence in Liberals either but my thinking is that Liberals only act if they are under threat.
The CASA removed any threat that the plug might be pulled and so they dragged things out as long as humanly possible.
It's like the way management behaves in negotiations when the union doesn't have a strike mandate.
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@markgrieveson @uxmark @avilewis I have no confidence in Liberals either but my thinking is that Liberals only act if they are under threat.
The CASA removed any threat that the plug might be pulled and so they dragged things out as long as humanly possible.
It's like the way management behaves in negotiations when the union doesn't have a strike mandate.
@leftylabourtech @uxmark @avilewis
A union sitting down and negotiating a collective agreement has parallels with what happened with the reaching of the Confidence and Supply Agreement. The NDP were bargaining with "the right to strike" (IE, it was known that unless an agreement was reached, the potential for nonconfidence -- IE "strike", was present), just as is the case when a union bargains with an employer.
The right for workers to organise and collectively bargain workplace conditions (with the goal being to come to an agreement), in Canada was largely based on the US Wagner Act (stemming from Roosevelt's New Deal), and stabilised further by the Rand formula. Before that it was ad hoc and chaotic.
The results of CASA were significant. Likely the most significant thing the NDP has done since Douglas & crew got universal healthcare. Using an ad hoc chaotic approach to bargaining would have been less effective in my opinion.
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@leftylabourtech @uxmark @avilewis
A union sitting down and negotiating a collective agreement has parallels with what happened with the reaching of the Confidence and Supply Agreement. The NDP were bargaining with "the right to strike" (IE, it was known that unless an agreement was reached, the potential for nonconfidence -- IE "strike", was present), just as is the case when a union bargains with an employer.
The right for workers to organise and collectively bargain workplace conditions (with the goal being to come to an agreement), in Canada was largely based on the US Wagner Act (stemming from Roosevelt's New Deal), and stabilised further by the Rand formula. Before that it was ad hoc and chaotic.
The results of CASA were significant. Likely the most significant thing the NDP has done since Douglas & crew got universal healthcare. Using an ad hoc chaotic approach to bargaining would have been less effective in my opinion.
@markgrieveson @uxmark @avilewis
I suppose we can debate this until the cows come home, but my thinking is about how best to exercise power.
And when it comes to the CASA, we come to different conclusions.
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@markgrieveson @uxmark @avilewis
I suppose we can debate this until the cows come home, but my thinking is about how best to exercise power.
And when it comes to the CASA, we come to different conclusions.
@leftylabourtech @markgrieveson @avilewis I’m a huge fan of the respectful discussion here, and the aspirational idea that there can be disagreements within the NDP without it fracturing.
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@leftylabourtech @markgrieveson @avilewis I’m a huge fan of the respectful discussion here, and the aspirational idea that there can be disagreements within the NDP without it fracturing.
️@uxmark @markgrieveson @avilewis It also helps that the two of us have long been personal friends, worked on campaigns together, drank beer together
I posted a link elsewhere to the Sandy & Nora podcast where they talk about these kinds of issues. Nora mentions that she speaks online differently to someone she knows vs. a rando, and she can be a bit of a "shitposter" on some of the other platforms.
