Stephen Lewis's Expulsion of the Waffle Movement Damaged the NDP's Long-term Prospects
Source: Taylor C. Noakes. "Stephen Lewis’s Complicated Legacy for the Canadian Left." April 3, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that when Stephen Lewis kicked the socialist Waffle group out of the NDP in the 1970s, he hurt the party in the long run. Even though it seemed like the right move at the time because the Waffle clashed with union supporters, it made the party less open to new ideas and activists.
Conclusion
Stephen Lewis's decision to expel the Waffle movement from the NDP, while politically expedient at the time, ultimately damaged the party by closing it off to new activists and contributing to internal intolerance
Premises
- The Waffle movement advocated for democratic socialism and Canadian economic independence from the US, which proved prescient given Canada's continued vulnerability to American economic control
- Lewis expelled the Waffle in 1972 because their anti-American stance conflicted with the NDP's reliance on US-based unions, creating an 'intolerable situation'
- The expulsion 'closed off the party to a new generation of activists and contributed to the party increasingly closing in on itself'
- The decision created 'lingering intolerance of internal dissent' that persisted into the late 1980s
- Avi Lewis's recent leadership victory, with positions echoing Waffle ideology on decommodification and economic sovereignty, suggests the expelled movement's ideas remain relevant
Assumptions
- Political parties benefit from internal ideological diversity and debate
- The Waffle's predictions about American economic dominance over Canada were accurate
- Short-term political expediency should be weighed against long-term party health
- The NDP's move toward mainstream politics came at the cost of its socialist principles