Ottawa Now - Notable figures in NDP circles already doubting the newly-named Federal Leader

Canada’s New Democrats have a new leader, and it only took Avi Lewis a single round of voting to take the crown. He secured 56 percent of the vote on the first ballot, which is slightly higher than the 53 percent Jagmeet Singh got in 2017 when he took the reins. Lewis steps into shoes of his grandfather – David Lewis – who led the party in the 1970’s. However, he is also taking over the Orange Crush at a historic low point, so there’s plenty of heavy-lifting ahead. One item on that daunting political to-do list is snagging a seat at Parliament Hill, which might be tougher to do when the leader of Alberta’s New Democrats is far from enthused about the new man in charge. Joining Kristy Cameron on today’s Political Heat Panel are Niipaawi Strategies founder Cam Holstrom, political consultant Lindsay Maskell, and Summa Strategies vice-chair Kate Harrison.