New NDP Leader Avi Lewis acknowledges ‘hard conversations’ amid party divisions

NDP strategist Tom Parkin on what’s next for the party after Avi Lewis wins leadership bid.

New NDP Leader Avi Lewis says “hard conversations” will be necessary as he takes the helm of the party amid public backlash for his leadership from provincial NDP leaders.

“I do believe that hard conversations are necessary. I’m a person who actually welcomes them,” Lewis said while speaking to reporters in Winnipeg on Monday.

Lewis won the leadership on Sunday with 56 per cent of the vote and campaigned on ending any federal approvals for new pipelines, or other natural gas projects, and building a nationwide clean energy grid instead.

Immediately following his win, Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi called Lewis “someone who openly cheered for the defeat of the Alberta NDP government,” and added Lewis, “is not in the interests of Alberta.”

But speaking to the media in Calgary on Monday, Nenshi said while Lewis has a “different point of view” on energy policy, he is “happy to meet with him.”

“I can work with anybody,” Nenshi added.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck, meanwhile, wrote a letter to Lewis saying she will not meet with him unless he changes his stance on resources development.

In her letter obtained by CTV News, Beck described Lewis’ positions as “ideological and unrealistic,” saying they would hurt workers, communities and entire industries in Saskatchewan.

Beck also said there are 40,000 Saskatchewan jobs tied to natural resource development, directly and indirectly, and “at least 900,000 worldwide.” Beck says Lewis’s positions are antithetical to NDP values.

While speaking to reporters in Regina on Monday, Beck said she will let the letter speak for itself.

Asked if she will ever meet with Lewis, Beck wouldn’t give an explicit answer.

“I have a calendar right now that doesn’t allow a lot of extra outside of all of what we’re doing here in Saskatchewan. We’ll see what happens in the future,” Beck said.

As for Lewis, he said he is open to talking to Beck “when she’s ready.”

He also elaborated on his vision for the oil and gas sector when asked directly.

“We don’t need to keep expanding it. That’s the specific call is to stop the increase of oil and gas in this country,” Lewis said. “We have never, ever said to shut it all down tomorrow. We have never said, ‘leave it all in the ground.’ We want to start the process of protecting workers from the next bust.”

Lewis also emphasized “there isn’t a business component for an East-West pipeline.”

“There isn’t actual plan, and there’s a lot of talk and a lot of political capital and a lot of oxygen being wasted on a project very long time to complete,” he added.

‘Moment is not now’ to look for a seat

Lewis currently does not hold a seat in the House of Commons.

Asked when he will run for a seat, Lewis did not signal an urgency to do so, saying “the moment is not now,” but said he will “look for the first available, winnable seat.”

He also said he wants to spend his initial time as leader to “speak to all Canadians, and not just NDP members” and address “the crippling costs in Canada.”

With files from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello