House governing body reinstates NDP parliamentary funding

NDP Leader Avi Lewis opens up about his father, Stephen Lewis, reflecting on his legacy and shares plans to rebuild the party.

The federal NDP caucus has had its parliamentary funding reinstated, a year after losing official party status in the April 2025 general election.

The unanimous decision was made by the Board of Internal Economy (BOIE) — the governing body of the House of Commons — which includes MPs from each major party and other House officials.

“This will enable us to better fulfill our parliamentary duties and reflect the 1.2 million Canadians who voted for us in the last election,” wrote former NDP interim leader Don Davies in a statement to CTV News. “In our view this will help make Parliament work better for all Canadians.”

Under existing parliamentary rules, 12 seats are needed for official party status, and the NDP dropped from 24 to seven in last April’s general election. The NDP is now down to six MPs, after Lori Idlout crossed the floor to the Liberals last month.

Without official party status, NDP MPs do not hold seats on parliamentary committees.

The party also lost its funding through the BOIE, which is used for the parliamentary functions of caucus, such as research and communications staff who help prepare MPs for House work and speeches. The funding would be used for the research, drafting, and writing of private members’ bills, for example.

Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon confirmed the reinstatement on Wednesday, saying the decision was not up to him alone, but rather to the non-partisan BOIE, of which he is a part.

“All parties on the Board of Internal Economy opted to reallocate,” he said. “So, I want to stress there’s no new funding involved here, and reallocation that indeed gives some resources to the New Democrats.”

“Money is coming from the allocation to the Parliament of Canada,” he also said. “So again, no new money.”

MacKinnon said the conversations started following last year’s general election, led by then-interim leader Davies.

In his statement, Davies wrote that he’s been advocating for the reinstatement for “the better part of a year.”

The party’s new leader, Avi Lewis, is not a sitting member of Parliament.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill, MacKinnon said in French that the NDP is “an established party,” and there was a “persuasive argument” to be made for reinstating the funding based on the number of votes received during the general election.

“It’s a fairly reasonable amount of money to ensure the proper functioning of the party in the House of Commons,” MacKinnon also said in French.

MacKinnon also signalled that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new majority government will opt to change the Standing Orders and makeup of parliamentary committees.

“I think there’s a generally accepted principle that committees reflect the composition of Parliament,” MacKinnon said. “You can expect news on that not too far away.”

With files from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello and Noah Wachter