NDP betting on these people and ridings to reverse its electoral fortunes
David Thurton | CBC News | Posted: March 8, 2025 9:00 AM | Last Updated: March 8
3 former Ontario MPPs among those hoping to make inroads for national party
The NDP has a list of battleground ridings where party insiders believe they are competitive and have a chance to grow.
Although the party intends to field candidates in all 343 federal ridings during the 2025 election, local riding associations and the party have been working for well over a year to strategically place candidates with a proven track record of getting elected.
An NDP national campaign official who CBC News is not naming because they were not authorized to speak publicly said that, beyond holding on to their existing seats, the NDP sees opportunities to make gains in Edmonton, the Halifax area, Montreal, Ottawa and the Greater Toronto Area.
The official would not share their complete list of battleground ridings because they did not want to give other parties the upper hand in a federal election, which the party believes could happen as early as March 10.
However, the NDP's battleground strategy includes an arsenal of candidates who have held elected office and are now running federally.
As the source put it, "a history of winning elections certainly is a big gold star on a candidate's record."
MPPs make leap in Ontario
In Ontario, the party has a trio of candidates moving from provincial politics to the federal arena.
"I have a reputation that people know about," said Monique Taylor, who won the provincial district of Hamilton Mountain four times.
Now she's hoping to unseat Liberal Lisa Hepfner and return Hamilton Mountain to New Democrats.
Another Queen's Park colleague hopes to deliver a Liberal upset — again.
Former Ontario NDP MPP Joel Harden faces incumbent Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi in the battle for Ottawa Centre — a rematch after Harden unseated Naqvi in the 2018 provincial election.
Harden is running this time hoping not to repeat a kind of politics which at times, he says, was a "little too fierce, a little too harsh … a little too closed-minded to the opinions of others."
"Sometimes the left can be inhospitable. Sometimes we can be pretty sanctimonious and pretty judgmental, and we need to be reflective about that and create a more welcoming place," Harden said.
Harden's former provincial colleague Bhutila Karpoche is also fighting to reclaim the Toronto battleground of renamed riding Taiaiako'n-Parkdale-High Park.
Karpoche said going to Parliament Hill is about fighting to protect her community from further gentrification and what she believes could be a Conservative majority government.
"We're going to need massive, massive efforts on the side of people, on the side of community, to make sure that we do not accept cuts to services," Karpoche said.
Nominating these candidates could be a response to the NDP's 2021 campaign debrief. Although the NDP entered the campaign with no debt and $24 million in the bank, it only achieved a net gain of two seats. It lost Hamilton Mountain and was shut out of Atlantic Canada, losing St. John's East in Newfoundland.
The report highlights that the party faced a credibility gap and pressures from strategic voting. It also received feedback that it spread itself too thin.
"The party should focus on incumbent and battleground ridings, rather than a full 338-candidate election," noted one section of the report.
Outside Ontario, the NDP sees opportunities to reclaim seats lost in previous elections and restore its foothold in Eastern Canada.
The NDP campaign source said the party is eyeing the Northwest Territories, St John's East, Halifax and "ridings like it."
Within the last few weeks, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has been touring Montreal with what the party calls "star candidates." Hoping to expand the party's footprint in Quebec beyond its one seat, Singh promised to pass a law that protects Quebec identity, natural resources and its dairy, egg and poultry markets.
The source says several Montreal ridings could be in play.
While the party has its battleground list, the CBC Poll Tracker shows the NDP is struggling — on track to win fewer seats than in 2021.
It could lose official party status if it doesn't elect more than 12 MPs.
The CBC Poll Tracker compiles and averages publicly available opinion polls of decided and leaning voters. The polls are weighted by respondents' age and sample size, as well as by the polling firm's track record and past performance.
'I'm happy to build my own machine'
Vancouver Centre is a riding that polls don't favour for the NDP. It's never held the riding, but a notable name is attempting to change that.
Avi Lewis is challenging Liberal stalwart Hedy Fry, who has held the riding since she defeated Progressive Conservative Leader Kim Campbell.
Lewis is a former host on Al Jazeera and CBC. His father, Stephen Lewis, led the Ontario New Democratic Party, and his grandfather, David Lewis, helped found the NDP in 1961.
In an interview with CBC News, Lewis said he is not getting the kind of support from NDP headquarters as in other high-profile ridings, but that's OK.
Lewis said he is drawing upon his decades of experience working in television.
"I have resources and networks that I can draw on, and I'm a middle-aged white guy," Lewis said. "I see it as my opportunity and responsibility to put a new riding into play … I'm happy to build my own machine."
According to Lewis, his campaign has raised more than $100,000 and they are hoping to spend all of it before the writ period — when election-spending limitations kick in — so they can "raise it again and spend it again."
Lewis said they are in fine shape locally, not only because of the money in the bank but also because of the team of up to 350 volunteers who door-knock daily.
"We don't just need to elect a representative. We need to come together as a community," Lewis said. "And that's the deeper work, and frankly, that's the much more satisfying and soulful work of the election process."