The Leap Manifesto: What is it, and what could it mean for the NDP's future?

WHAT IS IT?

The Leap Manifesto is a document that calls for a radical restructuring of the economy as Canada swiftly moves toward ending the use of fossil fuels. It was released last September in the midst of the federal election campaign. (An abridged version of the Leap supporters' Toronto declaration appeared in The Globe and Mail on Sept. 15.)

WHOSE IDEA IS IT?

The manifesto was crafted by bestselling author Naomi Klein and her husband, documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis.

Mr. Lewis is also the son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis. That has made for some interesting comparisons between Leap and a movement the elder Mr. Lewis opposed in the 1970s: the "Waffle," an NDP faction whose Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada proposed to steer the federal New Democrats in a more far-left direction.

WHY DID THEY DO IT?

The Leap Manifesto was released during a campaign when NDP Leader Tom Mulcair was touting his party as a moderate, pragmatic alternative to the Conservatives, promising to balance the federal budget, to hike no taxes other than a "slight and graduated" increase in the corporate tax rate, to sustainably develop Alberta's oil sands and to be open to free trade deals. It was a cautious agenda that was soundly rejected on Oct. 19, with the NDP finishing a distant third.

Critics have accused Mr. Mulcair's NDP of straying into the political centre and letting the Liberals outflank them on the left. Leap proposes to shift the party even further left to gain a possible advantage in the next election.

WHAT DOES IT SAY?

The manifesto's proposals include:

• Shifting swiftly away from fossil fuels so that Canada gets 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable resources within 20 years and is entirely weaned off fossil fuels by 2050.
• No new infrastructure projects aimed at increasing extraction of non-renewable resources, including pipelines.
• “Energy democracy,” in which energy sources are collectively controlled by communities instead of “profit-gouging” private companies.
• An end to all trade deals “that interfere with our attempts to rebuild local economies, regulate corporations and stop damaging extractive projects.”
• Expand low-carbon sectors of the economy, such as caregiving, teaching, social work, the arts and public-interest media.
• Vigorous debate on the idea of introducing a universal guaranteed minimum income.
• Declaring that “austerity – which has systematically attacked low-carbon sectors like education and health care while starving public transit and forcing reckless energy privatizations – is a fossilized form of thinking that has become a threat to life on earth.”
• Paying for it all by ending fossil fuel subsidies, imposing financial transaction taxes, increasing resource royalties, hiking taxes on corporations and the wealthy, introducing a progressive carbon tax, and cutting military spending.

WHO OPPOSES IT?

The Leap Manifesto didn't go over so well at the party's Edmonton convention with Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley, who said the party should support pipelines linking Alberta's oil with Canada's coasts. In a speech on April 9, she warned New Democrats to not be tempted by "slogans and dreams" after their election loss: "That is just a form of giving up," she said. "New Democrats never give up." Her Environment Minister, Shannon Phillips, also called the document "ungenerous" and "short-sighted."

WHAT HAPPENED IN EDMONTON?

Leap supporters came to the party convention hoping to pass a resolution declaring the manifesto to be "a high-level statement of principles that is in line with the aspirations, history and values of the party," setting the stage for a debate on how to implement the manifesto at the 2018 policy convention.

The delegates approved a watered-down version of the resolution that stipulates that specific policies advocated in the manifesto "can and should be debated and modified on their own merits and according to the needs of various communities and all parts of Canada."

The convention also delivered a fatal blow to Mr. Mulcair's leadership, where he secured only 48 per cent support in a leadership vote.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Mr. Mulcair has said he will remain as party leader until New Democrats decide on a successor, but the party has decided to leave up to two years for a new leader to be chosen. The party's federal council is meeting in May to discuss next steps for a leadership race.

With reports from Justin Giovannetti, Laura Stone and Evan Annett

Editor's note: An earlier digital version of this story incorrectly said Avi Lewis is the head of the Toronto-Danforth riding association. The head of that association is in fact Janet Solberg. This version has been corrected.

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