Stephen Lewis, Canadian politician, diplomat and journalist, dead at 88

Politics·Breaking

Former politician, diplomat and activist Stephen Lewis has died at age 88.

Lewis was a former leader of Ontario NDP and UN ambassador

Peter Zimonjic · CBC News · Posted: Mar 31, 2026 12:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

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Former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis has died. He was 88 years old. (Codie McLachlan/The Canadian Press)

Former politician, diplomat and activist Stephen Lewis has died at age 88.

Lewis was a former leader of the Ontario NDP, Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and a longtime journalist and environmental activist.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation posted the news of his death on its website Tuesday.

WATCH | Avi Lewis speaks about his father Stephen at NDP convention:

New NDP Leader Lewis says his father told him ‘not in my lifetime, maybe in yours’

After NDP members voted Avi Lewis their newest federal leader at the party’s convention on Sunday, the new leader spoke about his father, former Ontario NDP Leader Stephen Lewis — who is in hospital. Lewis said his father ‘isn’t doing too well, but he is still with us and hanging on to see the next chapter of our movement.’

This breaking story will be updated.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7/7, published by Vintage.

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