Strong NDP result in Beaches–East York shows “growing appetite for a progressive alternative”: Lewis

OTTAWA – Tonight’s strong result in Beaches–East York, combined with the surge in grassroots organizing across all three ridings, shows the NDP is gaining momentum as it rebuilds for the next federal election, NDP Leader Avi Lewis said Monday night.

"In Beaches–East York, our party has returned to fighting form. We’ve proved that the sting of last election was a one-time injury,” Lewis said. "Tonight we more than tripled our vote share from the last election, and did better than we have in any election since 2015."

“In 2025, many people voted Liberal out of fear of Donald Trump and Pierre Poilievre. But the buyer’s remorse for Mark Carney has begun, and people are taking another look at what his government is actually delivering,” Lewis added.

Throughout this byelection campaign, NDP volunteers heard repeatedly from voters fed up with Carney’s abandonment of progressive values – from his failure to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, to billions in public dollars for pipelines during a climate emergency, to flip-flopping on protecting Toronto's waterfront from jets.

The Beaches–East York campaign drew support from former Liberal voters, including lifelong Liberals who volunteered, donated, and cast their ballots for the NDP.

“These results tell us something important: there is a growing appetite for a progressive alternative in this country,” Lewis said.

“Our candidates offered real solutions to bring down the cost of living, tackle the climate crisis and protect Canadian jobs in the midst of a trade war, and in doing so they brought countless new people into our movement.”

The NDP has not held Beaches–East York since 2015. North Vancouver–Capilano has never elected an NDP MP, and Chicoutimi–Le Fjord has only gone to the NDP once, during the 2011 Orange Wave.

“The other story coming out of tonight’s byelections is the grassroots surge underway in our party,” Lewis said. “In three ridings where the NDP faced an uphill battle, we saw hundreds of people who were inspired to volunteer for the party for the first time. We strengthened our ground game, revitalized our base, and knocked on thousands of doors.

“This is how you rebuild a party from the ground up. And we’re just getting started.”

Lewis also congratulated the NDP’s three byelection candidates.

“Shannon Devine, Raphaël Émond and Stephen Tweedale gave these races everything they had. They campaigned with positivity, grace and a whole lot of hard work, and they inspired hundreds of volunteers,” he said. “To our candidates, their teams and every single volunteer: from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”