The rules and parameters of the 2026 NDP leadership campaign have been announced and a few candidates have already put their names forward.
The next NDP leader will be elected at the party convention by March 29, 2026.
The entry fee for leadership candidates will be a hefty $100,000, which is $70,000 more than the NDP’s last leadership race in 2017 that saw the election of Jagmeet Singh as leader.
Singh announced his intention to step down as federal leader after the NDP lost a majority of its seats and lost Official Party Status in the House of Commons in the April federal election.
When asked about this steep increase in the entry fee, an NDP spokesperson told rabble.ca that among other reasons, they wanted candidates to prove their ability to fundraise.
“The entry fee for leadership candidates is at $100,000 —significantly lower than other Canadian parties—demonstrating candidates’ organizational and fundraising capacity. After a difficult election, it is clear that rebuilding will be a critical part of the new leader’s mandate,” the NDP statement reads.
The NDP federal council, which formulated the rules for the race, also placed significant restrictions on third parties. Third parties are barred from cooperating in any way with any leadership candidate or their campaign.
Third parties as defined in the official governing rules for the race include corporation, society, unincorporated association, partnership, or individual engaged in advertising or political speech not directly employed or associated with a leadership campaign.
In a statement to rabble, the NDP said that this decision was made in light of the recent history of foreign interference in the leadership campaigns of other major parties. That statement reads as follows:
“Since the last NDP leadership race, much has changed, including the real threat of foreign interference in our election process. In light of this heightened and credible threat to our democracy, Federal Council has passed new third party provisions that do not allow external third parties to interfere in our leadership process—and they are completely in line with the Elections Canada Act. These new rules do not preclude the important engagement or inclusion of our party’s affiliated labour organizations but are aimed to safeguard the integrity and transparency of our race.”
First candidates enter race
Earlier this summer saw the first candidates announced their intention to enter the leadership race.
The NDP Socialist Caucus announced Montreal based activist Yves Engler as their candidate on July 3.
In an interview with rabble.ca, Engler said that he originally rejected the idea of running in the race due to other commitments, but then decided that he would be well placed to represent voters who wanted a candidate who had a strong stance opposing the Genocide in Gaza, and the militarization of Canada.
Engler said specifically that he believed that the NDP failed to adequately campaign on the issue of Gaza in the last federal election, which saw the party reduced to just seven seats in the House of Commons.
“I think that they did a very poor job on an issue I know well. They did a bad job on tapping into some of the energy that was unleashed with the genocide in Gaza,” Engler said. “There are a lot of young activists, a lot of young people of colour, who are still pushing on this issue.”
“Yeah, Heather McPherson wore a water melon pin in the House of Commons and got criticized for that, but is there an NDP MP going to demonstrations,” Engler said of the NDP MP for Edmonton-Strathcona.
McPherson has not announced her intention to seek the leadership yet, but Engler said that he believes that she would be the establishment’s preferred candidate.
“If I would have been in Heather McPherson’s position for the past 21 months I can promise I would have done a much better job of making life difficult for the Liberals for their deep, deep enabling of Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” said Engler.
Engler explained that he would use existing federal legislation to pursue those aiding participating in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians, including the Foreign Enlistment Act and the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act to hold accountable those Canadian citizens who have enlisted in the Israeli military. He would also ensure that Canada Revenue Agency rules around charitable organizations collecting money to support foreign governments were enforced.
Engler would also focus on Canada’s rising militarism
Another issue that Engler has been vocal on is Canada’s militarization and its role in NATO.
Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced that Canada would be increasing the amount of money spent on its military to five per cent of the national GDP in the next 10 years.
Engler said that he is best positioned to counter this dangerous rise in military spending.
“I basically see in the coming months increasing opposition to militarism with some space to talk about NATO,” Engler said. “Heather McPherson, who seems to be the preferred candidate, is on the NATO Parliament Association. She’s come out and expressed support around NATO. She’s been a real hawk on the NATO proxy war, so she’s not in a position to push back.”
Rather than raising military spending, Engler said that Canada should be reducing its military commitments.
Engler pointed to Mexico, which spends roughly 0.7 per cent of its GDP on its military, and Costa Rica, which does not have a military, as examples.
In his interview with rabble, Engler also addressed his recent legal issues. Earlier this year, Engler was arrested for allegedly harassing pro-Israeli media personality Dahlia Kurtz on social media.
When asked about these charges, which were still before the courts at the time, Engler said that he saw them as a potential advantage.
“I think it will help my campaign,” he said. “It just gives credibility that I’m not backing down to these forces of genocidal incitement.”
Later in July those charges were dropped.
“The prosecutor’s decision to drop the charges represents a significant victory for free speech and for those who oppose Canadian complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” said Engler in a statement. “The Montreal police should not have pursued charges against me for merely expressing criticism of a genocide advocate on social media.”
Prominent names have called on the NDP to allow Engler to run in the leadership race, including Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, and Toronto Star columnist Linda McQuaig.
“Yves Engler is an insightful, honest journalist and activist who would have lots to contribute to the NDP leadership race. Furthermore, the party should not acquiesce to the bullying of those trying to silence criticism of Israel,” McQuaig wrote in a statement to rabble.ca.
Other potential candidates and race timeline
Besides Engler, Tony McQuail, a perennial candidate for the NDP in Ontario at both the provincial and federal level was nominated for the leadership by his local riding association.
In a speech to members of the Huron-Bruce riding association, McQuail mentioned electoral reform as one of the key issues of his campaign.
“Women and working Canadians got the vote a hundred years ago – now it is time everyone’s vote counted toward representation in every election. Our current system leaves over half the voters casting ballots with no one to represent them,” he said.
Some prominent names have already said that they will not be pursuing the leadership this time around, including former NDP MP Charlie Angus, who ran for the leadership in 2017 and chose to retire as an MP at this past election.
Likewise, current interim-NDP leader Don Davies, and Deputy Leader Alexander Boulerice have declined to run in the race, as have Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, BC Premier David Eby, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, and former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.
The Leadership Application Package will be made available on August 20, with the official campaign kicking off on September 2.
There will be a candidate forum in October, and two debates; one in November and one in February 2026. Support rabble today!
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