Lewis’ platform “Homes for the many, not the money,” was presented as a solution to Canada’s housing crisis. The plan includes a national rent cap tied to inflation, stronger tenant protections, taxes and tighter rules for corporate landlords, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and federal pressure on provinces to stop renovictions and close rent-control loopholes. It also calls for a public builder to create one million social, co-op, non-profit, and supportive homes in five years, plus a broader strategy to end homelessness through supportive housing, housing benefits, and youth prevention programs.
Concerning Indigenous issues, Lewis platformed on a housing policy of For Indigenous, By Indigenous, with a call for 20 per cent of federal housing investments to be granted affordable housing projects in Indigenous communities. According to Lewis, this will help to address several Indigenous issues at once, including homelessness, and the funding of cultural and supportive housing.
However, Tanille Johnston, member of We Wai Kai Nation who was third place in the leadership race, explained that the NDP still has a long way to go in securing support from Indigenous people.
??“We need to go and sit down and listen to where their priorities are at and listen to where they want us to show up in that space. I really want to see some dedication in that arena as well.”
Johnston won 5,000 votes during the race through grassroots community support, beating Rob Ashton and Tony McQuail. She campaigned for mutual nation to nation engagement with Indigenous communities, support for reconciliation and rebuilding the NDP to benefit the working class.
For combating climate change and lack of job opportunity, Lewis proposed a Green New Deal. It consists of investing two per cent of Canada’s GDP to create more than one million union jobs, focusing on clean energy, building retrofits, public transit, and climate infrastructure. The plan promises free, reliable transit, widespread heat-pump deployment, stronger east-west power grids instead of pipelines, and a Green Jobs Transfer policy to protect workers in fossil-fuel-dependent regions.
Healthcare wise, Lewis seeks to bring all-inclusive pharmacare, dental, vision, hearing, and mental health care into the public system, while bolstering it with more nurses, other support, and healthcare workers. Doctors will also be incentivized to come to Canada by implementing free tuition for post-secondary education to encourage more supply. The drug abuse crisis will also be addressed following the principles of Harm Reduction, a strategy that reduces the negative consequences of drug use and emphasizes respect and care for the people who use drugs.
Lewis’ biggest challenge will be to prove to both his party and future voters that he can stick to his progressive policies and great ideas, while navigating a party far from its glory days — with no experience in the parliamentary system. It is likely that with this election the party will continue to lean into being a more distinct alternative for voters, rather than its previous strategy of cooperating with the Liberals for incremental policy gains while struggling to clearly separate itself from the broader centre-left.
