A five-way race, with three front runnersThere are five official candidates for the leadership:Tony McQuail, an Ontario organic farmer and former federal and provincial NDP candidate, advocates a merger of New Democrats and Greens. Rob Ashton argues that while workers built the NDP, the Party has, over the years, strayed from its working-class roots. Avi Lewis is the only leadership candidate to place a heavy emphasis on policy. Heather McPherson early on attracted the enthusiastic support of former Alberta NDP premier Rachel Notley and a number of other elected NDP politicians. At this stage, it looks like this is a three-way race among Lewis, McPherson, and Aston.