‘A lot to learn right here,’ new federal NDP leader says after meeting with Kinew By: Tyler Searle Posted: 12:29 PM CDT Monday, Mar. 30, 2026 Last Modified: 9:10 PM CDT Monday, Mar. 30, 2026 Updates

Newly anointed NDP Leader Avi Lewis has found a friend in Premier Wab Kinew, even as tensions rise among provincial New Democratic leaders in Saskatchewan and Alberta who disagree with the federal party’s stance on energy production.

Lewis won a landslide victory in the NDP leadership race that came to an end at the party convention Sunday morning in Winnipeg.

“After the events of yesterday, I went and met the federal caucus for the very first time; took off for the provincial legislature and met Premier Wab Kinew for an hour or more in his office,” Lewis told reporters Monday during a news conference at the Delta Hotel in downtown Winnipeg.

“I enjoyed his words of wisdom and encouragement. There’s a lot to learn right here in Manitoba from this NDP government.”

“There’s a lot to learn right here in Manitoba from this NDP government.”

Lewis listed an array of policy positions that unite the federal and provincial New Democrats, including Kinew’s pledges to improve affordability and health care, and fight back against predatory pricing in the grocery sector.

However, he acknowledged the parties do differ on some positions, including Kinew’s push to develop the Port of Churchill and bolster Manitoba’s ability to export oil and gas.

“Wab and I might not sing exactly from the same song sheet on that issue,” Lewis said.

“If the port in the North — whether it’s Churchill or somewhere else —ends up being a destination for more oil and gas exports, that’s something we in the federal NDP do not think serves Canadians.”

Lewis said his party wants to accelerate the transition away from oil and gas, believing doing so will build a more stable, safe and independent economy that does not require shipping raw resources elsewhere in the world.

His view on the subject was clear on Day 1 of the NDP leadership campaign, which has dominated the internal politics of the federal party for the past seven months, Lewis said.

“Wab and I might not sing exactly from the same song sheet on that issue.”

“We have a mandate from the members and I have a responsibility to be consistent with the ideas that brought those folks into the party and to support our campaign, and I’ll continue to do that,” he said.

“There are differences in our NDP family that are the exception in a huge shared base of values, a commitment to the dignified daily lives of working-class Canadians.”

Lewis stressed his platform does not promote an immediate dismantling of the oil and gas industry.

“We have never, ever said to shut it all down tomorrow. We have never said leave it all in the ground,” he said.

“We want to get off the boom-and-bust roller-coaster, and every time anyone talks about starting a transition, the conversation is buried by this bad-faith narrative that we’re calling for shutting it all down tomorrow.”

Speaking to reporters following Sunday’s election, Kinew said the federal and provincial NDP share more commonalities than differences.

Asked whether the federal party’s reluctance to support the Port of Churchill project would affect its relationship with the Manitoba government, Kinew simply said, “No.”

“When progressives have debate, have differences of opinion, we should view that as a sign of a healthy party and a healthy democracy,” he said.

“I just love Avi, he’s just a great person and we don’t have to agree on everything in order to do big things together.”

That endorsement was not met by Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck, who released separate statements after Lewis’s win. Both said the federal position on energy is out of touch with the reality of workers in those Prairie provinces.

Nenshi and Beck are both representing the Opposition and preparing for elections in their respective provinces, which may be why they are taking a hard stance against Lewis,” said Christopher Adams, adjunct professor in political science at the University of Manitoba.

“They have a lot to lose if they’re hitching their wagons to Avi Lewis and his anti-resource extraction platforms,” Adams said. “A lot of people work in the resource industries in Alberta and Saskatchewan and they rely on those sectors for their jobs.”

Kinew, meanwhile, holds a lot of “political capital” and is sitting comfortable atop the polls as the leader of Manitoba, Adams said.

“I don’t think Kinew would gain anything by being antagonistic to the federal party. Secondly, Kinew seems to have a big umbrella approach to politics.”

“One or two issues that divide the two leaders isn’t enough to really cause a lot of problems.”

Further, the federal NDP’s support — or lack thereof — for the Port of Churchill has little relevance to the future of the project, Adams said.

“Kinew is a pragmatist, he is not an ideologue and, in part, that’s why he is liked by so many people in the electorate. I would say that one or two issues that divide the two leaders isn’t enough to really cause a lot of problems.”

Lewis has remained conciliatory in his response to the dissent from his provincial counterparts, saying he is rooting for both to win their respective elections and strengthen the NDP foothold in the Prairies.

It’s a smart play, Adams said.

“He’s being diplomatic and I think that’s just what he has to do,” Adams said. “He’s just got to continue on with that diplomacy, or being gracious, rather than trying to pick a deep fight with the provincial wings.”

Lewis does not currently hold a seat in the House of Commons and said he has no immediate plans to pursue one. Instead, he will focus on introducing himself and his ideas to a broader swath of the voting public to shore up NDP support.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca