Stephen Lewis, former leader of the Ontario NDP and a champion of social justice and human rights, has died at 88
Avi Lewis, who won the NDP leadership race just days ago, told the CBC “it’s pretty damn special” that his dad was able to see his victory
Stephen Lewis, a former leader of the Ontario NDP and a champion of social justice and human rights, has died at 88.
A former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and a long-time journalist and environmental activist, Lewis was the father of Avi Lewis, who became the NDP’s current federal leader just days ago. His father, David Lewis, served as the party’s leader from 1971 to 1975.
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In a statement, the Lewis family said, “Stephen spent the last eight years of his life battling cancer with the same indomitable energy he brought to his lifelong work: the unending struggle for justice and dignity for every human life. The world has lost a voice of unmatched eloquence and integrity.”
Lewis was married to journalist Michele Landsberg since 1963.
Following his NDP leadership race victory over the weekend, Avi Lewis appeared on the CBC’s The Current. “My dad is more excited about the possibility of democratic socialism in Canada today than he’s ever been,” he told host Matt Galloway.
“He is in the final phase of his life. And this campaign for me, personally, has been a lot, because the family chat has been really heavy,” Lewis continued. “He was really clear with me months ago that he wanted to hang on to see me win. And I wanted more than anything to be able to give him that as a final gift for a remarkable life and career, not just in politics, but sometimes as Canada’s voice on the international stage. And it’s pretty damn special that it worked out that way.”
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
