Beginning in high school, I was a member of the Liberal Party. When I went on to UBC, I joined the university’s Young Liberal club. Those who remember the old Brock Hall may also recall the parliamentary council room, where members of the various political clubs gathered to debate public affairs or just pass the time when we should have been in class.

During my time there, Liberals generally dominated the conversations. We considered ourselves progressives.

We supported economic redistribution, strong social safety nets, and an active role for government in improving people’s lives. In the decades that followed, however, the Liberal Party moved steadily toward neoliberalism, embracing free markets, deregulation, privatization, and a diminished commitment to public programs.

By 2026, under Mark Carney, that transformation appears complete. The party may still speak the language of progressivism, but its governing instincts now lie elsewhere.

UBC Liberals tended to regard NDP members as well-intentioned but politically naive. Some seemed to us to be radicals—of the kind who later formed the Waffle movement. That group promoted Canadian economic independence, public ownership of major industries, and resistance to American domination of the Canadian economy.

One encounter caused me to reconsider my view of the NDP.

Tommy Douglas, then the party’s federal leader, walked into Brock Hall’s parliamentary council room and sat down, ready to speak with anyone who cared to join him. He arrived alone—not even accompanied by a junior minder—and spent the better part of an hour talking openly with a group of students.

Canada’s NDP leader, whom CBC audience members would choose as The Greatest Canadian in 2004, was unpretentious. He listened, answered questions, and treated everyone in the room as though their opinions mattered. He told us to call him Tommy, not Mr. Douglas.

Only later did we learn that Tommy was not alone; he was being followed by RCMP spooks.

Declassified records eventually revealed that Canada’s national police force had monitored Douglas’s political activities, speeches, travels, and associations for decades. I suspect that the names of several young adults, including mine, were added to police files that day. We may never know: even in 2026, substantial portions of the RCMP’s records on Douglas remain secret.

The RCMP was particularly suspicious of people associated with peace movements—and of political leaders willing to speak openly with people across the political spectrum. In the eyes of Canada’s security establishment, listening to dissenting voices and engaging opponents were not signs of democratic strength. They were grounds for surveillance.

The irony is striking. The authorities treated Tommy Douglas as a possible threat largely because he practiced the openness, tolerance, and democratic engagement that Canada claimed to value.

This memory returned to me after I read an email circulated by Canada’s NDP, now led by Avi Lewis.

I have serious reservations about the version of the NDP represented by David Eby. Under his leadership in BC, political principles have become expendable—discarded whenever they interfere with political security.

Avi Lewis is a different kind of politician. His language is direct, unapologetically progressive, and rooted in principles that once defined the NDP. That contrast is evident in the party’s recent message, which I reproduce below:

Yesterday, millions of Canadians walked outside to a frightening sky full of toxic smoke. People struggled to breathe. Parents struggled to explain it to their children. First Nations communities were destroyed. Is that what the Prime Minister meant yesterday when he boasted about the “lasting benefits” of expanding fossil fuel production? From knocking on doors, we know that Canadians are exhausted and frustrated as the effects of climate catastrophe grow more real by the day. But we also know we can’t fight this problem with avoidance, panic, or despair. We fight it with:  · A Green New Deal that would create a million good, sustainable jobs. · Putting public dollars into creating renewable energy, not toxic smoke. · A coast-to-coast-to-coast clean energy grid built by unionized workers. We fight it with each other, using solidarity, organizing, and collective action. Each year, the summer heat breaks records while wildfires ravage through community after community, yet each year we hand over more public dollars to the same massive fossil fuel companies who make it worse.     So when Mark Carney says there are lasting benefits to this set-up, ask yourself: who benefits from corporate welfare to fossil fuel companies, and how long can it last when our communities are breathing in the consequences?      When renewable energy is cheaper and more available than it’s ever been, when heat pumps are now more vital than ever, and when we can fund green solutions by simply taxing the industry that created the problem—why aren’t we?     Because real change only comes from organizing. That’s why it’s so important to get involved now—whether it’s sharing a petition, organizing in your community, or donating, the only thing that will solve climate change is climate action.