NDP Leadership Hopeful Avi Lewis Denies 'absurd' Union-Busting Allegations As Rivals Pounce
The federal NDP leadership race took a sharp turn Thursday night when candidate Avi Lewis was forced to defend himself against allegations of union-busting, a charge that rivals immediately seized upon as a betrayal of the party's core principles.
Following the official leadership debate in British Columbia, Lewis was confronted by reporters about an investigation published by The Provincial Times. The report detailed the 2021 closure of The Leap, a progressive organization Lewis led, which shut down just nine months after its workers unionized. A news outlet, The Breach, launched days later without a union.
Confronted in the post-debate scrum, Lewis did not mince words.
Avi Lewis categorically denied the allegations as an "ugly low blow" and a "hit piece" with "zero truth," insisting he was thrilled when workers unionized. Video credit: CPAC
“David, I've been around federal politics maybe even longer than you have. Is that possible?” Lewis said to CBC's David Thurton. “I know federal politics is a contact sport, but this is an ugly low blow. It's absurd, and there's zero truth to it.”
Lewis maintained that he and his organization welcomed the unionization effort led by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). He pointed to a joint press release issued at the time as proof of their support.
“We had an organization called The Leap, and when the workers, just before the pandemic shut everything down, said that they wanted to unionize, we were thrilled,” Lewis said. “The press release that CUPE and the LEAP organization put out together, celebrating the unionization of our workers, is still easily available for everyone. So this is a hit piece.”
The investigation, published Thursday, outlines a timeline where workers at The Leap were certified by CUPE in June 2020. According to public records, no formal contract negotiations took place in the following nine months. The organization closed in March 2021, citing the pandemic and Lewis's departure. The Breach, a new outlet featuring Lewis as a contributor, launched as a non-union shop just six days later.
Labour experts consulted by The Provincial Times said the sequence bears the hallmarks of “union avoidance.”
The allegations quickly became a point of contention among Lewis's rivals in the crowded race to succeed former leader Jagmeet Singh.
Veteran union leader Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada and a leadership candidate, told reporters he had already sought a private explanation from Lewis.
Rob Ashton calls any type of union busting "bullshit" and revealed he had already requested a private meeting with Lewis to get an explanation. Video credit: CPAC
“After the debate, Avi and I took a second, a private moment, and I asked him if we could have a meeting so that he could explain that to me,” Ashton said. “As a union leader, any type of union busting, I'm not saying it was, but any type of union busting is quite honestly bullshit. We have to be a party that defends workers, that defends unions.”
Ashton, who has made his union credentials a centrepiece of his campaign, did not wait for Lewis's explanation to voice his concern publicly, drawing a stark contrast between his own background and the questions hanging over his opponent.
Heather McPherson was more cautious but no less firm in condemning the underlying principle.
Heather McPherson stated she didn't know the specifics of Lewis's situation but firmly declared that union busting is "the opposite of what it means to be a new democrat" and a "really, really big problem for any candidate." Video credit: CPAC
“I don't know the situation, but I will say that we are a party of workers, and union busting is the opposite of what it means to be a new democrat,” McPherson said. “We need to be working to put workers' protections into legislation... We should be standing up for workers, and union busting is a really, really big problem for any candidate.”
McPherson noted that she is bringing forward legislation to make certain types of company unions illegal, reinforcing her pro-worker platform. “I don't know the situation that Mr. Lewis is being accused of, so I would leave that up to him to speak to that.”
Lewis's campaign did not provide further comment beyond his scrum remarks. CUPE Ontario, which endorsed Lewis earlier in the campaign, has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.
The NDP leadership vote is scheduled for March 2026. With the allegation now public and his rivals using it to question his commitment to labour, Lewis will likely face continued pressure to provide a more detailed account of the events surrounding The Leap's closure.
