What Canadians Should Learn From Zohran’s Win in NYC
Recommended Reading: https://www.ocpmedia.ca/p/zohran-mamdani-just-became-mayor (also on Instagram)
Join us for a conversation that challenges everything Canadian progressives think they know about winning.
Zohran Mamdani just pulled off what political consultants said was impossible: a democratic socialist victory in New York City, built on expanding the electorate rather than chasing swing voters. No billionaire backers. No moving to the center. Just grassroots organizing, bold policy, and a campaign that treated young voters and working-class communities like they mattered.
Meanwhile, Canadian progressive parties keep losing—and they won't tell you why.
This call isn't about celebrating an American win. It's about asking why the NDP, Ontario Liberals, and Toronto's progressive councillors refuse to learn from victories like Mamdani's, Obama 2008, AOC 2018, or Stacey Abrams' organizing blueprint. We'll connect the dots between what works elsewhere and what's broken here: the consultant class that profits from losing, the bias against learning from organizers of color, and the strategic laziness dressed up as "pragmatism."
We'll dig into:
What Mamdani's win teaches us about expanding vs. reconfiguring the electorate
Why Canadian parties ignore documented strategies from successful campaigns
How financial incentives keep operatives comfortable with defeat
What it actually takes to mobilize disengaged voters and build power
This isn't theory. It's a reckoning. Bring your questions, your frustration, and your willingness to name what's not being said out loud.
Because if we keep doing politics the same way, we'll keep getting the same results—and we can't afford that anymore.