Members of Canada’s New Democratic Party are meeting this weekend to choose a new party leader, with a decision slated for Sunday. And for the first time since the 1970s, a Jewish candidate has a strong chance of being elected.

Avi Lewis could follow in the footsteps of his late grandfather David Lewis, who led the NDP shortly after Avi was born. David Lewis remains the only Jewish Canadian in history to lead a national political party.

But a lot has changed since his reign. The NDP was decimated in the 2025 election, winning only seven seats and losing official party status. As they hope to rebuild and expand their coalition, some party members are worried about the younger Lewis’s criticism of Israel and his anti-Zionist beliefs; he is a member of the anti-Zionist organization Independent Jewish Voices Canada and his roster of prominent endorsers includes many activists with similar views.

Lewis’s closest rival is widely seen as Heather McPherson, the NDP MP for Edmonton Strathcona. She’s not Jewish, but holds similar sentiments about Israel. She has supported seven petitions against the Israeli government, wore a Keffiyeh in the House of Commons during a vote on Palestinian statehood, and wants Canada to investigate anyone who ever served in the Israeli army.

The CJN reached out multiple times to Lewis’s camp for an interview, but they declined.

On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, NDP insider and The CJN Political Panelist Noah Tepperman joins host Ellin Bessner to explain why he believes both front-runners are problematic for the country—but why Avi Lewis is much worse for Jewish Canadians.

Jewish former broadcaster Avi Lewis widely seen as the front-runner, but concerns are being raised about his strong anti-Zionist views.

Tags: #Canada politics, #NDP, #Avi Lewis, #Heather McPherson, #Jewish Canadians, #Israel, #antisemitism, #cdnpoli

Related links

• Read how the two leading NDP leadership candidates criticized the current U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, when the attack began Feb. 28, in The CJN .
• Learn more about the five candidates on the NDP’s leadership convention’s website.
• Hear The CJN’s Political Panel’s early prediction about the NDP leadership race, on “North Star” with Ellin Bessner , from Jan. 2026.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner )
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director)
• Music: Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here )
• Watch our podcasts on YouTube.
• Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

Will Bill C-9 make it safer for Canada’s Jews?

The federal government’s Combating Hate Act is heading toward a final vote—after weeks of committee study. and a move recently to limit debate. The bill is being framed as as Canada's signture response to rising antisemitism after Oct. 7.

But will it actually work?

In this episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, host Ellin Bessner speaks with two Jewish MPs from opposite sides of the aisle:

• Anthony Housefather (Liberal, Mount Royal), who argues the bill gives police the tools they’ve been asking for and Roman Baber (Conservative, York Centre), who says the law won’t make Jews safer and raises concerns about free speech

Both were asked about the same issues. Their answers could not be more different.

In this episode:• What Bill C-9 would change—and what it wouldn’t• Why the government moved to cap debate• The argument over enforcement vs. new laws• Concerns about free speech and religious expression• Whether the bill will actually reduce antisemitic incidents

Keywords: Bill C-9, Combating Hate Act, antisemitism Canada, hate crime laws Canada, free speech Canada, Anthony Housefather, Roman Baber, Canadian politics.

Related stories

• Learn more about the Private Members’ Bill that would have banned promotion of terrorism which Roman Baber, MP for York Centre, tried to have passed to strengthen Bill C-9, in The CJN , from November 2025.
• Why Canadian Jewish leaders supported Bill C-9 when it was at the Justice committee, in October 2025, in The CJN .
• Why the Canadian government said Bill C-9 is their response to growing antisemitism, in The CJN from Sept. 2025.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner )
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director)
• Music: Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here )
• Watch our podcasts on YouTube.
• https://www.youtube.com/@TheCJN Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)

The Liberal MP for Eglinton–Lawrence, Vince Gasparro, says his heart dropped when he heard a synagogue in his riding was recently targeted. Now he is calling for arrests, increased police support and expanded intelligence sharing, and hints there will be additional funding coming in the spring budget for Jewish security.

The rookie MP represents the riding with third-largest concentration of Jews in Canada. Gasparro was narrowly elected to Parliament last April 2025 on a platform to fight antisemitism and protect the Jewish community living in the area where he grew up.

After discovering that no one had been hurt or killed, Gasparro’s next thought was “We need to find these cowards who did this and we need to put them away.”

As Canada’s Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State for Combatting Crime, Gasparro has been at the forefront of the federal government’s recent push to tighten bail, expand police investigative powers and crack down on hate crimes.

But while those policy changes have moved through Parliament in recent weeks, Gasparro says the synagogue shootings mark a dangerous escalation—and require resources beyond local policing.

On today’s episode of The Canadian Jewish News’s “North Star” podcast, Vince Gasparro sits down with host Ellin Bessner to discuss the incidents, the $10 million just granted for Jewish security and that there may be more coming.

Related stories

• What Jewish leaders and local Toronto-area politicians including Vince Gasparro said after three March 2026 synagogue shootings, in The CJN.
• Terrorism charges dropped against Irish band Kneecap in 2025’ MP Vince Gasparro had announced they were banned from performing in Canada, in The CJN.
• Vince Gasparro narrowly won the Toronto area Liberal riding of Eglinton-Lawrence in the April 2025 federal election, defeating Karen Stinz, in The CJN .

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner )
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director)
• Music: Bret Higgins

Support our show

• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here )
• Watch our podcasts on YouTube.
• Help others find this podcast by leaving us a review for “North Star” on Apple Podcasts via your iPhone or iPad device, or with your Android. (Spotify allows only starred ratings but you can do that, too!)