Avi Lewis: Ecosocialism Is on the March in Canada
Documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis is running for the NDP in Canada’s upcoming federal election. In an interview with Jacobin, he discusses the cautiously hopeful political moment, his candidacy, and the prospects for a green transformation of the Canadian economy.
Avi Lewis discusses why Canada’s forthcoming federal election is a critical one for the climate — in British Columbia, across the country, and around the world. (Avi Lewis Campaign)
Filmmaker and broadcaster Avi Lewis is widely known for his work on both Al Jazeera and Canada’s CBC. His recent projects, such as the 2015 documentary This Changes Everything and the 2019 short A Message From the Future, cowritten with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have sought to draw attention to planetary climate crisis and the urgent need for a rapid green transformation of the global economy. Having spent his career at the intersection of media and movement politics, Lewis recently announced his candidacy for Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) in the coastal riding of West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country.
In this interview with Jacobin’s Luke Savage, Lewis discusses the current political moment, his decision to enter electoral politics after a career in broadcasting, the NDP platform, and why Canada’s forthcoming federal election is a critical one for the climate — in British Columbia, across the country, and around the world.
Luke Savage
Before we get into the specifics of the election and your own candidacy, I want to begin with an extremely, and perhaps unhelpfully, general question. Feel free to interpret it as you like. I’m curious how exactly you’d characterize the political moment we’re living in? Even in Canada, I think the defeat of the Bernie Sanders campaign has left many of us somewhat demoralized. Nevertheless, I also think there’s still an atmosphere of possibility and opportunity that perhaps didn’t exist a few years ago. How do you see it?
Avi Lewis
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