2026 New Democratic Party leadership election


In 2026, the New Democratic Party will hold a leadership election to choose a permanent leader to replace Don Davies, who became leader on an interim basis following the resignation of Jagmeet Singh. Singh announced his resignation after being defeated in the 2025 Canadian federal election.
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Background

Jagmeet Singh was elected as the leader of the New Democratic Party in the 2017 [New Democratic Party leadership election|2017 leadership election]. He led the party in the 2019, 2021, and 2025 federal elections. On March 22, 2022, the NDP reached a confidence and supply agreement with the governing Liberal Party of Canada, agreeing to support the government until June 2025 in exchange for specific policy commitments. On September 4, 2024, the NDP withdrew from their confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals, though they did not commit to a motion of non-confidence.
While the NDP under Singh stagnated in most opinion polls following the 2021 federal election, the party experienced a brief jump in support to second place following the collapse of the governing Liberal Party, during the 2024–2025 political crisis. However, following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation in January and Mark Carney's election as Liberal leader, the NDP collapsed in most polls, with most of its support going to the Liberals.
At the 2025 federal election, Singh led the NDP to its worst result in party history, both in seat count and popular vote, losing official party status and himself having been defeated in the riding of Burnaby Central. On election night, he announced that he would resign as party leader. On May 5, 2025, he was replaced by Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies on an interim basis until a new party leader is elected.

Rules

Under rules set out in the party's constitution, every member is entitled to cast a secret ballot for the selection of the leader. The new leader will be chosen at a leadership convention through a combination of ranked ballots and round-by-round voting. If a leader is not chosen in the first round, additional vote counts will occur until a candidate obtains 50 percent plus one vote and is declared the leader. Voters who chose to vote with an internet ballot will be allowed to change their vote at any time before the closure of the polls, including between each round of balloting.
Candidates will be required to pay a $100,000 entry fee, which will be due in four installments, and abide by a $1,500,000 spending limit. The $100,000 entrance fee has been criticized by some of the party's grassroots. The entrance fee marked a $70,000 increase over the prior $30,000 entrance fee in the 2017 NDP leadership election. One quarter of all donations to candidates will be paid to the party. To be nominated, candidates require at least 500 signatures from party members, at least half of which must be from female-identified members and at least 100 from "other equity-seeking groups," including Indigenous people, LGBTQIA2S+ people, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities. At least 50 signatures will be required from each of five regions: the Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, and British Columbia/the North. In addition, 10 per cent of the signatures must come from Canada's Young New Democrats. Members must join the party at least 60 days prior to the vote, an earlier eligibility cutoff compared to the 45 days prescribed by the rules of the 2017 contest and the 35 days in the 2012 contest.
Because membership is controlled by provincial and territorial branches, the voting age varies from 12 to 14 years old, depending on where the member lives.
Due to allegations of foreign interference in past Canadian federal leadership races, the party's federal council announced in July 2025 that "strong regulations will govern the role of third parties in the race."

Campaign

Following the party's poor election showing, several commentators and party members pointed to organizational and strategic shortcomings, including leadership fatigue, messaging issues, overreliance on social media and identity politics, and difficulty balancing support between urban progressives and working-class voters. Some called for renewed grassroots engagement and stronger ties to organized labour, while others suggested the creation of a New Progressive Party, possibly including closer cooperation or a merger with the Green Party to consolidate progressive support. Failure to obtain over 10% of the vote in all but 46 ridings meant many candidates did not receive campaign reimbursements, exacerbating concerns about financial challenges. Internal disputes and a shrinking activist base further complicated the party's path forward ahead of the 2026 leadership race.
Following Singh's announcement, political commentators suggested that several figures were likely candidates: Alexandre Boulerice, Nathan Cullen, Leah Gazan, Matthew Green, Jenny Kwan, Avi Lewis, Heather McPherson, Rachel Notley, and Valérie Plante. Boulerice, Cullen, Green, Notley, and Plante all declined to run before the start of the campaign period. McPherson's supporters publicly called on her to run in the election shortly following Singh's resignation. In late August 2025, representatives on behalf of Lewis and McPherson began collecting signatures before the launch of the leadership election on September 2.
On June 23, Tony McQuail, an environmentalist and farmer, announced his campaign. He was approved to run on October 9. He suspended fundraising on November 20, to prevent splitting grassroots donations with Tanille Johnston. Shortly before the first debate on November 27, he resumed fundraising. McQuail would again suspend fundraising on December 23, with him resuming on December 28.
On July 3, activist Yves Engler announced his candidacy, backed by the NDP Socialist Caucus; he submitted his application to the NDP's leadership vote committee for vetting on November 10. His application was rejected on December 8, 2025. However, his wife Bianca Mugyenyi announced her candidacy shortly before the deadline to apply on January 1, 2026. Her application was also rejected on January 28 on the grounds of being a "proxy candidate".
On September 19, Avi Lewis, an activist and journalist, announced his campaign. Lewis is also the son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis. His campaign launch was held in Toronto.
In an interview on May 20 with CBC News' Power & Politics, Heather McPherson, the MP for Edmonton Strathcona, confirmed she was seriously considering running for the leadership. She announced her leadership bid on September 28, at an event in Edmonton. During the campaign, she faced criticism due to her comments on "purity tests" in the party.
On September 30, it was reported that McPherson had raised nearly $100,000, followed by Lewis with around $55,500, Ashton with around $25,000, and Johnston with around $1,700. Lewis reported having the most individual donors with 353, followed by McPherson with 231 and Ashton with 45.
On October 1, Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, announced his campaign in Toronto. His campaign would notably be endorsed by the United Steelworkers trade union.
On October 8, Tanille Johnston, city councillor in Campbell River, announced her campaign in Nanaimo. Johnston, a member of the We Wai Kai First Nation, is the first Indigenous woman to seek the NDP leadership.
The first all-candidates forum took place in Nanaimo on October 16, with Rob Ashton and Tanille Johnston attending in person, and the other candidates speaking via Zoom. The Canadian Labour Congress hosted the first fully in-person forum on October 22, in Ottawa. Ashton, Lewis, and McPherson gathered in Ottawa for the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation leadership forum on October 28, while McQuail and Johnston attended virtually. On November 22, all the candidates, except Tony McQuail, gathered virtually in Gibsons for a leadership forum. On November 27, the candidates all gathered in Montreal for the first debate; it was held using a mix of French and English. The debate was noted for none of the candidates being fluent in French, with most reading prepared French statements before switching to English. The debate was followed by an all-candidates forum hosted by the Ontario NDP's northern caucus in December 2025, and a town hall hosted by the Canadian Union of Public Employees on January 7, 2026. On January 10, the Ontario New Democratic Youth hosted an in-person debate at the Toronto Metropolitan University campus in Toronto. Johnston, Lewis, and McQuail attended a forum hosted by the Democratic Socialists of Vancouver on January 15. The Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East hosted a virtual debate on January 21, with all candidates except Ashton attending.
At the end of December 2025, Elections Canada reported that Lewis had raised $778,869, with McPherson trailing at $415,490. Ashton had raised $231,095, Johnston had raised $142,129, and McQuail had raised $95,093. By the end of January 2026, it was reported that Lewis's campaign had raised over $1,000,000.
On January 11, Ashton's campaign was criticized for answering questions on Reddit using generative artificial intelligence, despite his criticism of the technology. He previously made headlines for stating that Lewis's style of leadership would "divide" the party.

Timeline

2025

  • April 28 – The 2025 Canadian federal election was held. The New Democratic Party was reduced to seven seats and lost official party status for the first time since 1993. Party leader Jagmeet Singh, who was defeated in Burnaby Central, announced that he would step down once an interim leader was appointed.
  • May 5 – The party's federal council named Don Davies, MP for Vancouver Kingsway, as interim leader following consultations with the party's parliamentary caucus.
  • May 10 – NDP MPs Leah Gazan, Lori Idlout, and Jenny Kwan write a letter to the party's executive and council saying they were not properly consulted in the selection of Davies as interim leader. The letter says that the party executive and other MPs did not hold caucus discussions or provide a timeline. In a statement for a May 16 story in The Globe and Mail, NDP national director Lucy Watson said that the federal council had sole responsibility for choosing an interim leader under the constitution.
  • June 23 – Environmentalist and farmer Tony McQuail announces his intention to run for the NDP leadership.
  • July 3 – Activist Yves Engler announces his intention to run for the NDP leadership.
  • July 10 – The party's federal council meets to discuss a schedule and logistics for the leadership election; it decides the campaign period will be between September 2025 and March 2026. It also decides that the convention will be held concurrently with the party's federal convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
  • August 20 – Leadership application package available.
  • September 2 – Leadership campaign period start date.
  • September 19 – Activist and journalist Avi Lewis announces his candidacy for the NDP leadership.
  • September 28 – MP for Edmonton Strathcona Heather McPherson announces her candidacy for the NDP leadership.
  • October 1 – Union leader and longshoreman Rob Ashton announces his candidacy for the NDP leadership.
  • October 8 – City councillor Tanille Johnston announces her candidacy for the NDP leadership.
  • October 9 – Tony McQuail's candidacy is approved by the NDP's leadership vote committee.
  • October 16 – Nanaimo—Ladysmith NDP EDA hosted an all candidates forum.
  • October 22 – Leadership candidate forum hosted by the Canadian Labour Congress.
  • October 28 – Candidates forum hosted by the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation.
  • October 31 – Deadline for the second $25,000 installment of the deposit fee.
  • November 10 – Yves Engler submits his application to enter the leadership contest.
  • November 20 – Tony McQuail temporarily suspends fundraising, encouraging supporters to donate to Tanille Johnston instead.
  • November 22 – West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country NDP EDA hosted an all candidates forum.
  • November 27 – First official leadership debate. Tony McQuail resumes fundraising.
  • December 2 – The Ontario NDP Northern Caucus hosted an all candidates forum.
  • December 8 – The NDP sends Yves Engler a letter confirming his ineligibility to run after an independent review committee upheld an earlier decision by the NDP's vetting committee.
  • December 23 – Tony McQuail again temporarily suspends fundraising, encouraging supporters to donate to Tanille Johnston instead.
  • December 28 – Tony McQuail resumes fundraising.
  • December 30 – Deadline for the third $25,000 installment of the deposit fee.
  • December 31 — Bianca Mugyenyi submits her application to run as a candidate.

2026

  • January 1 – Deadline for leadership candidate application documents to have been completed and received by the Leadership Vote Committee.
  • January 7 – Canadian Union of Public Employees hosts a virtual all candidates forum.
  • January 10 – The Ontario New Democratic Youth held a debate in Toronto.
  • January 15 – Democratic Socialists of Vancouver host a virtual forum.
  • January 21 – The Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East hosts a virtual debate.
  • January 28 – Membership cut-off date. Fourth $25,000 installment of the deposit fee is due Bianca Mugyeni's rejection by the leadership vote committee is announced.
  • January 31 – Candidate registration deadline.
  • February 19 – Second official leadership debate in Metro Vancouver.
  • March — Voting period begins and will run for a maximum of 21 days.
  • March 27 – NDP federal convention begins.
  • March 28 – Final day of voting in leadership election.
  • March 29 – Leadership election results announced. Final day of federal convention.

Candidates

Approved

Candidates who have been approved by the party's leadership vote committee and paid the $100,000 deposit fee. As of October 14, 2025, all five approved candidates—Ashton, Johnston, Lewis, McPherson, and McQuail—have also registered their campaigns with Elections Canada.

Failed to qualify

Declined