Tracking the Policy Commitments in the NDP Leadership Race

The NDP leadership race will conclude on March 29. Here's an overview of what the five candidates have promised so far in the race.

Liberals who follow Progress Canada will be familiar with the policy cheat sheets we produce during leadership races. With the NDP race now nearing its membership deadline, we thought we’d give prospective voters an update on what the candidates have promised voters so far.

The policies are organized into the following overarching topic areas:

• Household budget

• Labour and economic growth

• Health care

• Environment and climate change

• Inclusion and fairness

• Nation-building and national unity

• Global affairs and sovereignty

• Democratic reform and party renewal

These topics and their related subtopics are the same ones we used to review the federal Liberal candidates during that party’s 2025 leadership race.

Not everything will be captured in these summaries. We’ve collected the following proposals from policy announcements and public statements made available on each candidate’s website, but have not scoured every media interview they have given for additional hints at what they would do in office.

Some policy planks they have offered are so detailed that it’s best to visit the candidates’ policy pages to learn more. For example, many of the candidates have very detailed policy proposals on housing and jobs. They are worth taking a deeper dive into.

Our hope is simply to give you a quick overview that lets you understand at a glance what’s on offer (and perhaps to encourage voters to push for more details where there are gaps in these plans).

Candidate Promises

For More Information, visit each candidate’s website:

• Rob Ashton

• Tanille Johnston

• Avi Lewis

• Heather McPherson

• Tony McQuail

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