If we look closely at the legal and public records over the past decade, we can piece together a clear, factual picture of New Democratic Party (NDP) members who have faced criminal charges.
To be completely candid and ground this in reality: the data does not show a sweeping syndicate of political fraud, nor are “all” NDP members facing charges. Out of the hundreds of federal and provincial politicians who have served under the NDP banner since 2014, only a small handful have been charged with crimes. These cases largely involve isolated, personal misconduct rather than coordinated financial fraud or party-wide corruption.
Furthermore, a look at the history shows that when a sitting member is criminally charged, the standard procedure is an immediate suspension or expulsion from the party caucus.
Here is the factual history of federal and provincial NDP figures who have faced criminal charges or significant legal scrutiny over the last decade.
Summary of Legal Incidents (2014–Present)
| Politician | Jurisdiction | Year Charged / Revealed | Charge or Legal Issue | Party Action & Outcome |
| Manon Perreault | Federal MP (Quebec) | 2014 | Public Mischief | Suspended from caucus immediately; convicted in 2015. |
| Roméo Saganash | Former Federal MP (Quebec) | 2023 | Sexual Assault | Incident occurred post-office; matter before the courts. |
| Kennedy Stewart | Federal MP (B.C.) | 2018 | Civil Contempt | Arrested at a pipeline protest; plead guilty to civil contempt. |
| Wab Kinew | Manitoba MLA / Premier | 2017 (Historical) | Assault, DUI (2003-2004) | Disclosed historical charges; had already received legal pardons. |
| Yves Engler | Leadership Hopeful | 2025 | Criminal Harassment | Disqualified and barred from the federal NDP leadership race. |
Federal NDP Cases
1. Manon Perreault (2014 – Public Mischief)
In June 2014, Manon Perreault, the federal NDP Member of Parliament for Montcalm, Quebec, was charged with public mischief. She had falsely reported a crime to the police, explicitly accusing a former employee of theft.
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The Reaction: Upon the charges being laid, the NDP immediately suspended her from the caucus. She was forced to sit as an Independent MP for the remainder of her term.
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The Outcome: In 2015, Perreault was found guilty, fined $1,000 (plus court costs), and placed on a one-year probation. She subsequently ran for a different fringe party in the 2015 election and lost.
2. Roméo Saganash (2023 – Sexual Assault)
Roméo Saganash was a highly prominent federal NDP MP representing a northern Quebec riding from 2011 to 2019. In August 2023—several years after he had left public office—Saganash was arrested and charged by Winnipeg Police with sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident in May 2023.
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The Reaction: Because Saganash was no longer a sitting MP or active within the party apparatus at the time of the charge, there was no caucus to expel him from, but he was subsequently removed from his advisory roles with truth and reconciliation committees. The matter remains within the justice system.
3. Kennedy Stewart (2018 – Civil Contempt / Arrest)
While not a criminal fraud charge, it is often brought up in discussions of NDP arrests. In 2018, sitting federal NDP MP Kennedy Stewart (alongside Green Party Leader Elizabeth May) was arrested at a protest against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in Burnaby, B.C., for violating a court injunction.
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The Outcome: He was charged with civil contempt (a non-criminal charge), pleaded guilty, and paid a $500 fine. He later resigned his seat to successfully run for Mayor of Vancouver.
4. Yves Engler (2025 – Criminal Harassment)
Yves Engler, an author and political activist, attempted to run in the federal NDP leadership race. However, earlier in 2025, he was charged with criminal harassment and intimidation of a police detective.
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The Reaction: The NDP’s vetting committee outright barred Engler from entering the leadership race, citing credible evidence of harassment, intimidation, and physical confrontation of party members and the public, keeping him entirely out of the party’s leadership ranks.
Provincial NDP Cases
1. Wab Kinew (2017 – Historical Convictions)
During the 2017 Manitoba NDP leadership race, Wab Kinew (who is now the Premier of Manitoba) faced intense public scrutiny when his past criminal record was brought to light. In 2003 and 2004, when Kinew was in his early twenties, he was convicted of assaulting a taxi driver and driving under the influence (DUI). He also faced domestic assault charges that were ultimately stayed by the Crown.
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The Outcome: Kinew was open about his troubled past and the steps he took to rehabilitate his life. He had received official pardons for his convictions long before running for office. The Manitoba NDP allowed him to remain in the leadership race, which he won.
2. Michael Mantha (2023 – Workplace Misconduct)
While not formally charged with a crime, Ontario NDP MPP Michael Mantha was removed from the provincial NDP caucus in early 2023. The party launched an independent third-party investigation into allegations of serious workplace misconduct involving a staffer.
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The Outcome: Following the investigation, the Ontario NDP permanently expelled him from their caucus, forcing him to serve as an independent.
The Reality of Political Accountability
When we objectively review the timeline, the narrative that the NDP is embroiled in systemic fraud or that its members are universally criminals simply does not align with the facts.
Politicians are human, and like any large organization, political parties occasionally deal with individuals who break the law. However, the charges over the last ten years have been highly isolated incidents of personal misconduct. There is no evidence of institutional financial fraud or any legal mechanism that would cause the “dissolution” of the party based on these distinct, individual cases. Furthermore, as the timeline shows, standard parliamentary accountability has functioned exactly as intended: when sitting members are criminally charged, they are swiftly removed from the party.