Avi Lewis’s leadership campaign has issued a notable statement distancing itself from the New Democratic Party’s handling of Yves Engler’s exclusion from the leadership race, raising serious concerns about the vetting process while stopping short of endorsing Engler’s reinstatement.
In a response shared with Global Green News—and reportedly circulated to supporters who contacted the campaign—Lewis said he was “disappointed by the way this vetting process was handled” and committed to a formal review of candidate vetting procedures if elected leader.
While Lewis made clear that he disagrees with Engler on a number of political positions and approaches, his statement represents the most explicit criticism to date from a rival leadership campaign of the NDP bureaucracy’s decision-making process.
Questioning the Vetting System — Not the Rules
Lewis emphasized that his campaign raised concerns about the structure of the vetting process before the leadership race began, including advocating for final vetting decisions to be made by the full Federal Council rather than a small committee. That proposal, he said, was rejected.
“We also advocated for final vetting decisions to be made by the entire federal council — we lost that one as well,” Lewis stated.
He added that once the rules were set, his campaign followed them “scrupulously and in good faith,” and stressed that it had no involvement in Engler’s application or appeal.
This framing draws a sharp distinction between accepting the rules as written and challenging whether those rules are democratic or legitimate in the first place—a distinction now central to the controversy.
Empathy for Engler Supporters
Lewis stopped short of defending Engler’s positions, but explicitly acknowledged the impact of the decision on those who supported his campaign.
“I empathize with his supporters who have put time, energy and passion into his campaign,” Lewis said, calling the experience of seeing a candidate excluded from the ballot “demoralizing and difficult.”
That acknowledgement stands in contrast to statements from the NDP’s national office, which have largely focused on procedural finality and urged party officials to avoid public debate.
Call for External Oversight
One of the most consequential elements of Lewis’s statement was his renewed call for Elections Canada oversight of leadership races and nomination contests across all parties—a proposal that directly challenges internal party control over eligibility decisions.
“This situation again highlights the need for the neutral and widely-respected external oversight that Elections Canada provides,” Lewis said.
Such a reform would represent a significant shift away from opaque, internally controlled vetting processes—precisely the issue at the heart of the Engler controversy.
A Sign of Internal Strain
Lewis’s intervention underscores the growing strain inside the NDP as the fallout from Engler’s exclusion continues. While party officials insist the matter is closed, the fact that a leading leadership candidate felt compelled to publicly criticize the process—and promise structural reform—suggests the issue is far from settled.
Though Lewis carefully avoided taking sides in Engler’s appeal, his statement adds weight to broader concerns about transparency, democratic accountability, and the concentration of power within the party’s leadership apparatus.
