Rob Ashton, president of Canada’s branch of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), announced on Wednesday that he is joining the NDP leadership race. Positioning himself as the voice for the working class, Ashton said he aims to bring the NDP back to its roots of advocating for the regular person.
“I’m not a politician. For most of my life I’ve been a worker,” Ashton’s campaign website reads. “I know what it means to put in a hard day’s work, to worry if the paycheque will stretch far enough, and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with others to take on the boss – and win.”
Ashton’s website states that he will focus on tackling issues of affordability and growing income inequality. He said these issues are the ones he hears the average person raise in conversations.
“To sum it up simply: I fight for workers, I speak plainly, I listen carefully, and I don’t back down from a fight,” Ashton said.
Ashton is the third person to be provisionally approved by the party’s leadership vote committee. He is joined by Alberta MP Heather McPherson, and Avi Lewis, an activist and filmmaker. Yves Engler, a Montreal based activist, announced earlier this summer his intention to run for the leadership as well, and has received the endorsement of the NDP Socialist Caucus.. B.C. city councillor Tanille Johnston is also expected to enter the race.
To enter into the party’s leadership race, members must submit a nomination form signed by at least 500 members of the NDP and pay an $100,000 entry fee. Nominees must then be approved by a leadership vote committee to become a candidate.
The NDP has historically been the political arm of organized labour in Canada. The party was launched jointly by the Canadian Labour Congress and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1961. Brock University labour expert, Larry Savage, noted that formal ties between unions and the NDP have diminished in recent decades.
Federally, the NDP has historically filled the position of a third or fourth party. However, it did gain official opposition status in 2011. Under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the NDP had entered into a supply and confidence agreement with the Liberal Party that lasted from 2022 to 2024.
Through this agreement, policies that labour for which unions have long advocated saw some progress. The Pharmacare Act received royal assent in October 2024 and legislation for a national dental care program received royal assent in the summer of 2023.
In the April federal election, the NDP lost official party status after securing only seven seats in the House of Commons. At rabble.ca’s recent Off the Hill panel, guests discussed what the party might need in a leader after this upset.
WATCH: The return of Parliament and the future of labour
Chuka Ejekam, a researcher who has worked with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the B.C. federation of labour, said the party needs someone who knows how to utilize its resources when it does not form the government.
“If it’s not a minority government, and they don’t hold the balance of power in terms of passing legislation, then the party still has to find ways to be influential,” Ejekam said. “Because there are a lot of people for whom the NDP is basically the only choice.”
Candidates can register to join the leadership race until January 31. Voting will take place on March 29 during the party’s annual convention in Winnipeg.
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