Monday February 16, 2026 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 2:15 pm PDT]
Editorial political analysis | by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Link: Watch the debate on Thursday February 19 (5 pm PT / 8 pm ET)
The second debate in Canada’s NDP 2026 Leadership Race is coming up Thursday, February 19 at 5 pm PT (in the Vancouver Lower Mainland area).
Debates are undertaken as an opportunity for voters (NDP members in this case) to hear ideas presented side-by-side and to assess how candidates perform in real time.
The debate this week will be moderated by former journalist Hannah Thibedeau now working in the corporate public affairs sector. Thibedeau moderated the federal Liberal leadership debate back in February 2025, to mixed reviews.
Leadership convention:
Whoever is chosen as the leader will be expected by the party’s membership (and perhaps by extension, the progressive sector of society) to shape the NDP for the next phase of people-first leadership in this country.
The leadership convention will be held March 27 to 29 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, with the new leader announced on March 29 — about five weeks after this Thursday’s debate.
Why this matters:
Given the opportunity for a progressive third party to utilize Canadian politics to make improvements for his country, the 2026 NDP leadership race seems not to have generated an extraordinary amount of attention in the past few months — except in political circles. Many other things of an urgent nature are grabbing headlines including economic threat, national defence and public safety crises as well as everyday challenges of affordability and well-being.
NDP leadership has a long-range opportunity for contributing to Canadian social progress, though for many people that many not be at the top of their list of concerns right now.
Arguably, social progress need not be a domain assigned to the NDP or even the Greens. But for now it seems that way — other than the NDP policy pushes that were adopted during the Trudeau Liberal government and are somewhat maintained in the Carney Liberal government such as child care, dental care, the national school food program, and the stirrings of national Pharmacare.
Interim leadership:
Currently the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) is led by interim leader Don Davies, MP (Vancouver Kingsway).
“New Democrats are proud of the role we have played in building a stronger and more just Canada, and we are optimistic about our future,” said NDP leader Don Davies in a recent news release about the leadership race. “This is an exciting time for our members to help shape the future of our party and of our country.”
Davies has been in the interim role since former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh resigned on election night April 28, 2025 (after losing his seat), seeing the proud ‘third party’ reduced to just seven MPs.
In the scope of Canadian federal politics the NDP are usually seen as a viable option for Canadian voters apart from the Liberals and Conservatives.
Davies has represented the NDP in the House of Commons for the past year, expressing with verve the core NDP values while fitting into the Ottawa scene. He looks the part and knows how the system works.
Last week Davies delivered a tribute to Tumbler Ridge victims in the House of Commons and attended the vigil in Tumbler Ridge, both times contributing ideas for a launch paid for future discussions about what needs to be assessed for better conditions in Canadian society going forward.
Five leadership candidates:
The five NDP leadership contestants are: Rob Ashton, Tanille Johnston, Avi Lewis, Heather McPherson, and Tony McQuail.
Here are some brief notes, in the order that Island Social Trends sees their possible order of success in the March 29 leadership vote.
- Heather McPherson is the only currently elected MP, indeed in the heart of NDP territory (Edmonton Strathcona) which for this race is considered a plus. Through the House of Commons, she is a member of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association and the Canada-United Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association (with bilateral meetings coming up March 2 to 6 in London, UK and Edinburgh, Scotland). She told Island Social Trends in Victoria (during the BC NDP convention last fall) that already being in parliament is important for the next NDP leader to best lead the party in current issues of the day, to hit the ground running so to speak. This appears to be her key winning advantage as well as being articulate on a range of sociopolitical issues.
- Tanille Johnston is from northern Vancouver Island and promotes the importance of her understanding and advocacy for First Nations and rural issues.She is a registered social worker and a municipal city councillor. “She’s running to lead the NDP into a new era, one where the party leads with courage, centers equity, and organizes from the ground up,” as stated in her campaign profile. She brings a fresh insight with stable bright energy that might indeed appeal to the next generation of NDP supporters.
- Avi Lewis is a politician and writer who has vied before for the leadership, running without success as a federal NDP candidate in 2021 in West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, and in 2025 in Vancouver Centre (up against long-time Liberal MP Hedy Fry). He hosted a CBC world affairs show on CBC from 1998 to 2001. Lewis seems to lean on family reputation, which may not be what a modern world relates to. Lewis is married to author, social activist, and filmmaker Naomi Klein. He comes from a family of NDP leaders, being the son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis. His mother Michele Landsberg was a journalist/columnist with The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star and a former editor of Chatelaine magazine which had influence on urban women in the 1970s and 1980s.
- Rob Ashton has spent 30 years in the union movement. His campaign leads with issues for workers as well as the affordability crisis and growing inequality. “The NDP must once again become the party of workers and everyday people,” says Ashton in his campaign profile, saying that solidarity isn’t a slogan but how he has lived his life. He says he will always put workers first and fight for wealthy corporation to pay their fair share. In a sense he represents the true core of the NDP vision but he may lack the skills or presentation to be an instant fit into mainstream politics (if in fact that matters).
- Tony McQuail, age 74, realized as a young farmer that decisions made in Ottawa could have a serious impact on his community and farm. He ran as the NDP candidate in the 1980 Federal election. He has run five times federally and twice provincially for the NDP. He served three terms as an elected trustee on the Huron County Board of Education during the 1980s. In the early 90s he served as the Executive Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. He has been an early adopter of solar and wind power. He would clearly bring important agricultural and climate adaptation themes to leadership if he were to win.
===== RELATED:
- NEWS SECTIONS: FEDERAL NDP | 45th PARLIAMENT OF CANADA
- Federal ministers head to Tumbler Ridge with BC Premier & Safety Minister (February 11, 2026)
- Tributes in the House of Commons about Tumbler Ridge shooting (February 11, 2026)
- NDP MPs visit Nunavut ahead of 2026 House of Commons session (January 24, 2026)
- Carney Liberals still don’t realize they are a minority government, says NDP (December 10, 2025)
- NDP national leadership debate coming up Nov 27 (November 26, 2025)
- Next steps by NDP interim leader Don Davies (May 8, 2025)
- Federal NDP chooses Don Davies as interim leader (May 7, 2025)