The Lewis family has a storied history within the New Democratic Party. And it could also have an influential future if another member is elected to Parliament.

Today, Avi Lewis, the husband of author Naomi Klein, announced that he's seeking the federal NDP nomination in West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country.

On Saturday (May 22), Lewis will be acclaimed as his party's candidate.

The riding is represented by first-term Liberal MP and lawyer Patrick Weiler.

Lewis was raised in Ontario but his Twitter account is based in xwiklway, a.k.a. Halfmoon Bay, on the Sunshine Coast.

Born in 1968, Lewis has been a documentary filmmaker, broadcaster, and public intellectual, as well as one of the initiators of the Leap Manifesto. 

In many respects, this was a precursor to the Green New Deal. It advanced proposals to address the climate crisis while offering a fair deal to low-income people and a just transition for fossil-fuel-industry workers.

Lewis is one of a growing number of anticorporate activists around the world who have decided to enter electoral politics.

This trend was highlighted in UBC law professor Joel Bakan's recent film, The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel.

In 2018 when NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's popularity was sinking, the Straight posted a commentary assessing the odds of those who might replace him. At that time, Lewis was pegged at 20:1.

His grandfather, David Lewis, succeeded Tommy Douglas as the second leader of the New Democratic Party in 1971.

From 1972 to 1974, David Lewis secured various left-wing concessions, including the creation of state-owned Petro-Canada, from the minority government led by Pierre Trudeau.

Avi Lewis's father, Stephen, was the longtime leader of the Ontario NDP and was Canada's ambassador to the United Nations when Brian Mulroney was prime minister.

Stephen Lewis is a spellbinding orator and humanitarian whose foundation has championed health and human-rights initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. He was also an outspoken critic of international financial institutions' role in contributing to the spread of AIDS in Africa.