The Spark Cast

SparkSolidarity.ca

The Spark Cast is a Canadian leftist podcast with an internationalist edge, tracking radical, subversive, and pragmatic movements that challenge capitalism, colonialism, nationalism, fascism, and imperialism at home and around the world. Cutting through media spectacle to confront power where it lives and organize beyond borders.

Episodes

  1. Ep. 07: Avi Lewis and the No Democracy Party Convention (3/29/26)

    Apr 2

    Ep. 07: Avi Lewis and the No Democracy Party Convention (3/29/26)

    In March 2026, the NDP gathered in Winnipeg for what it called a “renewal convention.” Inside, speeches about unity and rebuilding. Outside, protesters in the cold, locked out of the very party claiming to represent them. The gap between those two scenes tells the real story. In this episode, I break down how the NDP’s leadership race became a case study in managed opposition. From the exclusion of Yves Engler and Bianca Mugyenyi to the silencing of anti-imperialist politics, what unfolded wasn’t just internal dysfunction, but the removal of an entire political argument from within the party. I look at the collapse of the Jagmeet Singh era, why his final “fight” came too late to matter, and how the NDP’s structural position inside Canada’s political system makes real opposition functionally impossible. From propping up the Liberals to abandoning material politics, the result is a party that left many on the left politically homeless. I also take a hard look at Avi Lewis and what his leadership signals going forward. Despite a progressive reputation, his record raises deeper questions about who gets to define the limits of dissent inside the NDP, especially on Palestine and Canadian foreign policy. At its core, this episode asks a harder question: if social democracy in Canada functions as a containment mechanism rather than a vehicle for change, what comes next? Can the NDP be transformed, or has it revealed exactly what it was always meant to be? 🔗 Links here: sparksolidarity.ca SOURCES Yves Engler raises $110K, barred from NDP leadership race — CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/yves-engler-barred-ndp-leadership-9.7010236 Engler's platform — yvesengler.com https://yvesengler.com/2025/07/07/why-im-running-for-leadership-of-ndp/ NDP rejects Engler, cites harassment/propaganda/antisemitism — Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ndp-rejects-yves-engler-as-leadership-candidate/ Three-person committee rejects Engler, no member vote — Rabble https://rabble.ca/politics/canadian-politics/ndp-leadership-committee-rejects-yves-englers-candidacy-application/ Bianca Mugyenyi enters race — Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ndp-leadership-bianca-mugyenyi-yves-engler/ Mugyenyi rejected as "proxy candidacy" — Canadian Dimension https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/by-barring-bianca-mugyenyi-ndp-shows-its-not-interested-in-renewal NDP terminates Engler's membership, no appeal — CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/voting-ndp-leadership-race-convention-9.7119241 Barry Weisleder credentials withdrawn — Yves Engler / X https://x.com/EnglerYves/status/2036461593869926744 CCF expels Manitoba legislators over Marshall Plan/NATO — Midnight Sun https://www.midnightsunmag.ca/out-of-the-impasse-the-avi-lewis-campaign-and-left-strategy/ David and Stephen Lewis expelled the Waffle, 1972 — Canadian Encyclopedia https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stephen-henry-lewis/ Ontario NDP expels Sarah Jama — CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/jama-ndp-caucus-1.7005056 Avi Lewis October 7 thread — X https://x.com/avilewis/status/1711979812321972225 Selina Robinson "crappy piece of land" — CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/selina-robinson-israel-comments-calls-to-resign-1.7102824 Avi Lewis calls Robinson protest "childish and gross" — X https://x.com/avilewis/status/1754959906741105042 Social democracy as containment mechanism — Hampton Institute https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/the-lies-social-democrats-tell-fdr-the-new-deal-and-social-fascism

    39 min

About

The Spark Cast is a Canadian leftist podcast with an internationalist edge, tracking radical, subversive, and pragmatic movements that challenge capitalism, colonialism, nationalism, fascism, and imperialism at home and around the world. Cutting through media spectacle to confront power where it lives and organize beyond borders.