Canada’s most populous province held an election last Thursday. Unfortunately, the opposition, the social democratic Ontario New Democrats, failed to win, losing eight seats as incumbent premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives cruised to a majority. Left-wing Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) MPP Joel Harden, however, was reelected in Ottawa Centre.

Jacobin spoke to Harden about the election and what a renewed Ford mandate means for the Left. Over the course of the discussion, Harden laid out his views on socialism, liberalism, community organizing, and his past as an antiwar and anti-poverty activist.