Why I’m running for leadership of Canada’s NDP

I’m running to lead the New Democratic Party. Canada needs a mainstream voice willing to challenge capitalism and imperialism while promoting decolonization, degrowth, and economic democracy.

Initially, my reaction to the NDP Socialist Caucus’ request to run was to reject it. But there are two crucial issues before us that I am particularly well placed to challenge: Canadian complicity in Israel’s holocaust in Gaza and the unprecedented growth in military spending.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are revolted by this country enabling Israel’s mass slaughter in Gaza. They can trust that I’ll stand up to the genocide lobby. As student union vice-president, I was expelled from Concordia University in the aftermath of the 2002 protest against Benjamin Netanyahu, and fifteen years ago, I wrote Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid. I understand the scope of Canada’s complicity. I will push to jail anyone in this country who has participated in war crimes in Gaza, and to investigate institutions “inducing” young Canadians to join the Israeli military. I’ll seek to outlaw government-subsidized donations to Israel, de-list the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, and end Canada’s assistance to a security force overseeing Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

We need to politicize the popular uprising against Israel’s holocaust by “Canadianizing” it. But we also need to move those politicized by Gaza towards broader critiques of Canadian foreign policy, militarism, and the unequal, ecologically damaging status quo. The left has not done well in turning the Palestine mobilizations into a broader systemic challenge. Might an insurgent NDP candidacy assist?

Anyone appalled by the Liberals’ and Conservatives’ support for the holocaust in Gaza should be terrified by the prospect of giving these monsters greater means to wage violence.

But that is exactly what is taking place. Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to the largest military expansion in seventy years. In Saturday’s Globe and Mail, Michael Wernick explained, “It’s a mistake to think of this as a short-term issue. It’s going to bedevil finance ministers for the next six or seven budgets and probably be relevant to the next two federal election campaigns.” To pay for Carney’s massive military boost, the former head of Canada’s public service is calling for a new 2-per-cent “defense and security tax” in addition to the GST.

Wernick’s proposal should spur a backlash. So should the slashing of the civil service and social programs to pay for more war spending. Even before the massive military boost, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has concluded that Carney’s campaign promises would likely lead to the “worst cuts to the public service in modern history.”

While it’s bad enough that Mark Carney’s war spending plan will lead to major cuts in social programs and bolster an authoritarian, racist, and patriarchal institution, more soldiers and weapons will also lead to more international killing and subjugation campaigns. It’s beyond reckless to strengthen the killing hand of politicians who’ve enabled Israel’s holocaust.

However, the current NDP leadership is unable to say as much or even seriously push back on boosting military spending, as they’ve promoted the institution, US foreign policy, and the belligerent NATO alliance. Establishment leadership candidate Heather McPherson is part of the NATO Parliamentary Association, and she called for Canada to promote Ukraine’s membership in the alliance (even former Prime Minister Jean Chretien recognizes that NATO expansion contributed to provoking Russia’s illegal invasion). As I detail in Stand on Guard for Whom: A People’s History of the Canadian Military, we should withdraw from NATO, lessen US military ties, and cut military spending.

Although my knowledge and credentials in other areas of public policy may not be as strong, over the past 25 years, I’ve assisted environmental, indigenous, feminist, and other social movements.

As part of protecting political speech, I’ll push to end state surveillance of activists, weaken the intelligence agencies, and abolish Canada’s terrorism list. As part of promoting Land Back, I’ll seek to expand Indigenous jurisdiction. As part of significantly reducing Canada’s ecological footprint, I’ll push to immediately phase out Alberta’s tar sands.

Capitalism’s need for endless consumption and profit maximization is imperiling humanity’s long-term survival. We must build an alternative that rejects its war on the earth, human psyche, and democracy.

In Economic Democracy: The Working Class Alternative to Capitalism, my late uncle, Al Engler, proposed an egalitarian, democratic vision for replacing a capitalist economic system based on one dollar, one vote with an economic democracy based on one person, one vote. When I worked for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (now Unifor), I successfully promoted measures that led to economic democracy. I crafted a widely circulated call to set up a publicly owned national telecommunications company, promoted an eco-socialist vision for a union representing tar sands workers, and published mainstream commentary questioning why we have democracy in the political arena but not in the workplace.

The aim of running is to win the party leadership, but that’s obviously a long shot. The more realistic objective is to drive the debate away from the mushy middle. To do so will require the support of many volunteers and registering a few thousand new members to ensure the other candidates know the campaign is serious. To win, we’d need to persuade 25,000 individuals to purchase NDP memberships and convince a significant portion of current members to support bold change. This is a steep hill to climb, but half of Canadians believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and many tens of thousands are appalled by Canada’s complicity.

Two months ago, I spoke before 20,000 at an anti-genocide demonstration in Ottawa, and six weeks into Israel’s holocaust at a march in Montreal of 50,000.

As Sean Orr’s victory for Vancouver city council and Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York Democratic primary attest, there’s an appetite for change out there. Let’s see what happens.