In July 2025, Yves Engler was nominated as a candidate for the leadership of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP). Volunteers gathered to support his candidature, and a platform, Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed – Onward to a Socialist Future ! (CCBF), was written by about 45 volunteers.
Yves and the group formed around his candidature went through disappointments, but the platform, its ideas, and the group supporting it survived, and in May 2026, the CCBF movement was created.
In September 2026, it was in Toronto to protest Prime Minister Carney’s summit and there, as Bianca Mugyenyi notes, it showed the result of tireless organizing.
We are very lucky that Jasmine Peardon, one of the principal writers of the platform and CCBF’s coordinator, kindly agreed to answer questions for Pressenza’s readers.
A big thank you, Jasmine!
Why is the platform named “Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed” (CCBF) , and how does it deal with the idea that capitalism can’t be fixed ?
The name explicitly rejects any attempts at reforming capitalism. No matter how billionaires, social democrats or capitalists try to spin it, it is still a system which depends on exploitation and subordinating people to profit, amongst other things. The name indicates that the problems we face are due to the system, and therefore naturally prompts the question: what alternative systems exist? Then the rest of the policy book puts forward a socialist alternative.
What are the CCBF movement’s short-term and long-term goals?
We just completed our first short-term goal– the Confront Carney’s CEO summit protest in Toronto. The goals of that campaign were to undermine Carney’s ‘elbows up’ political image, expose the reality of the ‘investment summit’ as a CEO summit that will consolidate wealth upwards, and build coalitions with the broader left and build collective power. I would say we achieved all those goals.
Our longer-term goals are similar– it is always about raising political consciousness and building collective socialist power. We do this through various campaigns, writing policy, weekly political education series, and are even engaged in municipal elections in Ontario through the Municipal Socialist Alliance.
The CCBF platform is not yet one year old. Is it already having any influence?
I would argue that the CCBF platform had a significant influence within the NDP world over the last year. We gave out hundreds of copies at the NDP convention in March [2026] and we were at the mics arguing for our policies in front of thousands of delegates.
Going forward, the platform anchors the organization. We need to have a platform to show new people what you stand for, and persuade them to join the movement. Considering that the success of the platform led to the establishment of the new organization, CCBF, I would say it is having an outsized influence on the left as CCBF grows every day.
In the light of your experience with the CCBF movement, what recommendations would you give to a group working on, for instance, the elimination of nuclear weapons?
In building CCBF, I’ve come to understand better the value of having a broad political organization that can see the bigger picture. While NGOs and single-issue organizations can be very effective in achieving their goals because they are so narrowly focused, this narrow focus can also be a disadvantage. For example, climate focused organizations often will focus most of their energy on oil and gas without targeting the military industrial complex. Yet as Abby Martin demonstrated in her film, the military is the ‘Earth’s Greatest Enemy’. Therefore the value of having a broad political organization or party working in conjunction with NGOs is that a political strategy can be pursued that understands intersecting and overlapping issues without treating each in isolation. I believe this is a stronger approach.
Therefore my recommendation for single-issue organizations would be to situate their work in a broader analysis, either through collaboration with broader organizations/parties or by broadening the scope of their analysis.
Assuming every goal is reachable, what vision do you have for the world and humanity?
I want to live in a world where people have the freedom and material security to develop their full potential, and therefore humanity’s full potential. Work would be meaningful and our collective labour, resources and capacities would be used to expand human possibility and progress society.
Unfortunately, I feel that in the global north, we are heading in the opposite direction. It is evident that the capitalist system is holding back human development. Many of the wins that the working class won in previous generations are being undone. And while capitalism has developed enormous productive capacities, they are being used for the private accumulation of wealth rather than redirected toward solving our shared needs. This is a devastating injustice that CCBF is fighting to correct.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Nothing, thank you!
After this first exchange, as a follow up of the first part of the interview, there was need for a few more questions and comments.
In your answer to the second question, you say that “The goals of that campaign were to undermine Carney’s ’elbows up’ political image,…” Could you explain what the expression”elbows up” means, as some readers may not be familiar with it ?
The phrase ‘elbows up’ refers to a political ad Carney did during his campaign for Prime Minister. He used the hockey term as a metaphor for how he would stand up and defend Canadian sovereignty in the face of Donald Trump’s annexation threats.
Are you saying that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney initially wanted to protect Canada against the U.S. , but that with the Toronto CEO summit, he showed that he is ready for projects that will “sell Canada” and will further enrich the very rich?
I don’t believe Mark Carney ever wanted to protect Canada from the U.S., but rather that he positioned himself that way to gain power. He played the role of moral defender of Canada at the perfect moment to catapult himself into power, but despite his rhetoric, his actions prove that he is not standing up to the U.S. As soon as he came into office, he axed the Digital Services Tax which targeted U.S. tech giants, and he continues to commit billions in military spending on U.S. companies. The CEO summit was further proof that he is willing to sell Canada to whoever is buying, which in a U.S-led world is often U.S. companies.
In the answer to the third question, you say “Going forward, the platform anchors the organization.” Do you now consider CCBF as an organization in addition to a movement?
If we take the long view, CCBF is in an interim stage between a movement and an organization. While we are likely only a ‘movement’ now, we are actively defining what our organization will look like in a few years, with a clear internal structure, regional chapters and international presence. Until that comes to fruition, I suppose calling us an organization is premature; however I know we will develop into one as we progress.
Concerning the fourth question, I appreciate your emphasis on grouping issues together, and this recommendation agrees with Pressenza’s idea that violence takes many forms.
In your answer to the fifth question, when you say “I want to live in a world where eople have the freedom and material security to develop their full potential, and therefore humanity’s full potential.”, you echo Tony Robinson’s remark that legal freedom to achieve one’s goals is not sufficient, but economic freedom is also necessary.
Jasmine, I am happy to see that Pressenza and CCBF are so close. I do hope this closeness will continue in the future, and that a collaboration will be established between CCBF and either Pressenza or the Humanist Forum which is closely related to Pressenza.
Note: Jasmine kindly provided the link to the Wednesdays’ political education series from CCBF for the enjoyment of Pressenza’s readers https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1ZYC7QqpRWeyVrSp8g5WGQ
