Federal NDP leadership candidate Rob Ashton unveiled his “Good Jobs Promise” this week, a policy platform pledging that if elected prime minister, his government would guarantee employment for anyone willing to work.
Ashton framed the proposal as a response to an economy he says works “for the few at the top while the people who actually build it are told to tighten their belts.”
“Politicians call it ‘the economy.’ Working people call it what it is: a system rigged for the rich,” Ashton wrote on X. “That’s why I’m proud to unveil my Good Jobs Promise.”
The policy’s first plank guarantees “A Job For Everyone Who Wants One,” promising government-guaranteed employment in sectors including home construction, public infrastructure maintenance, senior care, environmental restoration, and community support services.
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“If you’re ready to work, the government will guarantee you a job — building homes, maintaining public infrastructure, caring for our seniors, restoring our environment, or supporting our communities,” Ashton wrote. “A national jobs guarantee — so no one’s left behind.”
Ashton rolled out his first major policy proposal since entering the NDP leadership race in October. The 49-year-old president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada calls himself “the first working-class labour candidate” in the contest to replace former leader Jagmeet Singh.
Jobs guarantee programs, which propose government employment as a safety net for unemployment, have roots in progressive labor movements dating back decades. The COVID-19 pandemic renewed attention to the concept when Canada’s Trade Union Congress advocated for similar measures as part of economic recovery efforts.
Ashton’s campaign has emphasized job creation through increased home construction and shipbuilding, alongside protecting Canadian industries and raising taxes on high earners. At his campaign launch in Toronto, he said the NDP must return to its labor roots after the party lost official status in the April 28, 2025, federal election, dropping to seven seats.
“I decided that workers needed a voice in Canada. The Conservatives, they say that they have our back and the Liberals are always standing right beside us, allegedly,” Ashton told The Canadian Press in October. “But when an election happens, they disappear and the rich get richer and, quite frankly, the workers of this country are left in the dust.”
The NDP will select its new leader on March 29, 2026, during the party’s federal convention in Winnipeg. Also running are Edmonton MP Heather McPherson, filmmaker and activist Avi Lewis, Campbell River city councillor Tanille Johnston, and political organizer Tony McQuail.
Ashton has spent 30 years as a longshoreman and nearly a decade leading ILWU Canada. He joins a crowded field seeking to rebuild a party that struggles to regain relevance after its worst electoral showing in more than three decades.
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