EXCLUSIVE: Did An NDP Leadership Candidate BUST His Own Workers' Union?
As Avi Lewis campaigns to lead the federal New Democratic Party, he speaks passionately about taking on corporate power and standing with workers. But a Provincial Times investigation has uncovered a labour dispute from his recent past that raises questions about whether his actions matched his rhetoric.
The former journalist and documentary filmmaker, who is running to succeed Jagmeet Singh, was at the helm of The Leap—a progressive advocacy organization that shut down abruptly in March 2021, just nine months after its workers unionized and before a first contract could be reached. Days later, a new outlet called The Breach launched with Lewis as a contributor, operating without a unionized newsroom.
Labour experts say the timeline bears the hallmarks of “union avoidance,” an employer delaying bargaining until an organization closes, only to re-emerge in a non-union form.
A Timeline Of Questions
The sequence of events, pieced together through public records and labour board documents, began in May 2020 when workers at The Leap filed for union certification with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario.
On June 8, 2020, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) certified CUPE as the bargaining agent for Leap employees in Ontario, in a public decision recorded on CanLII (Case No. 0321-20-R). Just a week later, on June 15, The Leap publicly announced the unionization, with Lewis and his team projecting enthusiasm about the decision in a Financial Post report.
But according to records reviewed by The Provincial Times, what followed was nine months of silence on the collective bargaining front. Public records show no evidence that formal negotiations ever commenced, no exchange of proposals, no bargaining sessions, and certainly no collective agreement.
In early March 2021, The Leap abruptly announced it was ceasing operations. The organization cited three reasons: its non-charitable status in Canada, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the departure of Lewis and executive director Katie McKenna.
Yet by March 16—just six days later—The Breach announced its launch, positioning itself as a reader-supported news outlet covering racism, inequality, and climate change. Indiegraf, a private media platform, announced The Breach as a client. Martin Lukacs and Cara McKenna were listed as editors, with Lewis later identified as a contributor.
Notably, The Breach launched as a non-union organization.
Government Subsidies While Unionizing
Adding another layer to the story, public records show that even as workers were organizing and The Leap's future was in question, the organization continued to receive government funding.
On June 1, 2020—one week before the OLRB certified the union—the Polaris Institute, which served as The Leap's fiscal sponsor, received a Canada Summer Jobs wage subsidy worth $9,549 from Employment and Social Development Canada. The funding covered the period from June to September 2020.
According to a separate investigative document obtained by The Provincial Times, the Polaris Institute had participated in the Canada Summer Jobs program for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020, and also collected the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The document notes that the Polaris Institute's CRA business number (882408610) confirms receipt of federal wage subsidies.
Funding From Foundations
Investigative records show The Leap and its affiliated organizations received significant foundation funding in the years leading up to the closure.
The Catherine Donnelly Foundation awarded special grants of $140,000 in 2019 and an additional $11,000 in 2021, according to the foundation's online recipient directory. The Rockefeller Brothers Foundation also provided funding in 2017-18, as documented on the development platform Devex.
What's not clear from public records is whether any of these funders were aware of the unionization effort, the subsequent closure, or the launch of The Breach.
What's Missing From The Record
The investigative document obtained by The Provincial Times notes several critical gaps in the public record:
- Whether collective bargaining formally commenced at any point between June 2020 and March 2021
- Whether any duty-to-bargain, first-contract, or unfair labour practice complaints were ever filed with the OLRB
- Whether any applications were initiated but later withdrawn
- Whether the OLRB file reflects any informal resolution or closure-related filings
The OLRB has confirmed to researchers that withdrawn or informal matters would not appear on the public CanLII database; meaning the full story may never be known unless parties involved choose to disclose it.
CUPE has been contacted for confirmation about the certification and bargaining status, but has not responded publicly.
The Breach Today
The Breach has continued operating since its 2021 launch, building a roster of prominent progressive contributors including Indigenous writer Pamela Palmater, journalist El Jones, author Linda McQuaig, legal scholar Azeezah Kanji, and Lewis himself.
The outlet has gained some parliamentary attention: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May cited a Breach report in the House of Commons in April 2021 about the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and CBC News cited a Breach story in May 2024 about Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre's fundraising events.
But for the workers who unionized at The Leap in hopes of securing better conditions, The Breach's success must sting. They never got their contract, and the organization that replaced theirs has no union at all.
A Political Problem For The NDP
Lewis's labour record has not yet become a major issue in the NDP leadership race, which has so far focused on policy differences and questions of party direction. The first French-language debate in November 2025 touched on affordability, reconciliation, and the role of the labour movement, but not on Lewis's time at The Leap.
But for a party founded by labour unions and sustained by working-class voters, the implications are significant.
At that same debate, Lewis positioned himself as a fighter for working people, arguing that “we're in a period of market failure” and calling for public options for grocery stores and cellphone plans funded by a wealth tax. He has also pitched a “Green New Deal” for an economic transition .
Yet rival candidate Rob Ashton, a longtime dock worker and union leader, has already begun drawing contrasts with Lewis. In a video posted in January, Ashton accused Lewis of the kind of politics that “turns New Democrats against each other and undermines the wins NDP governments are delivering.”
Ashton pointed specifically to Lewis's opposition to LNG development in British Columbia, where Premier David Eby's NDP government has supported the Ksi Lisims project.
But the labour question is potentially more damaging. If Lewis couldn't reach a collective agreement with his own workers and instead the organization shut down rather than sign a contract, union members may question whether he truly shares their values.
Lewis's campaign did not respond to our requests for comment on this story. In past statements, Lewis has not addressed the specifics of The Leap's closure or its timing relative to the union certification. The Provincial Times also contacted former Co-Executive Director Bianca Mugyenyi, as well as the Ontario branch of CUPE, which publicly endorsed Lewis' campaign for NDP leadership. Mugyenyi and CUPE did not reply to our requests for comment.
But as he criss-crosses the country courting NDP members ahead of the March 2026 leadership vote, the question may finally catch up with him.
The NDP was founded to give workers a voice. Its next leader will be expected to stand with unions, not just in rhetoric but in practice. For Avi Lewis, the record from 2020-21 suggests a different story; one that union members may want answered before they cast their ballots.
