Environmental crusader David Suzuki wants Charlie Angus to become the next leader of the federal New Democratic Party.

In a statement released Monday, Suzuki lauded the veteran Ontario MP as a "bridge builder," who was able to stop toxic waste imports and protect northern groundwater by bringing together blue-collar workers, farmers, Indigenous peoples, and activists.

"He put the work into bringing divergent communities together into a movement that was unbeatable," Suzuki said in the release.

"We need a leader in Ottawa who is willing to undertake the same determined approach to the great crisis of our time."

'He gets stuff done'

Angus will not divide people into "winners and losers" in the fight for environmental and social justice, Suzuki said. He also complimented Angus, whose Timmins-James Bay riding includes many First Nations communities, for his "unceasing fight" for Indigenous rights.

"But Charlie is also equally comfortable in a union hall to talking with urban idealists," Suzuki said.

"Canada needs a leader who isn't afraid to shake things up. That's what I like about Charlie. He doesn't just talk. He gets stuff done."

This is not the first time the popular scientist and broadcaster has made an endorsement in a leadership race. In 2013, Suzuki backed Vancouver MP Joyce Murray in the Liberal leadership race over eventual winner Justin Trudeau.

Canada needs a leader who isn't afraid to shake things up. That's what I like about Charlie.David Suzuki

Suzuki later said Trudeau asked for an endorsement just before the start of the 2015 election, sparking a heated exchange over pipeline projects.

Angus has urged New Democrats to move beyond so-called pipeline politics. The centrepiece of his climate policy is a carbon budget that will cap nation emissions over a rolling five-year period.

On Monday, Angus took to Twitter to say his relationship with Suzuki was cemented over his work to fight toxic waste imports to the north, documented in his book "Unlikely Radicals."