NDP leader launches byelection campaign; Alberta UCP hosting massive fundraiser

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi officially opened his bid for a seat in the Alberta legislature on Thursday.

It comes after the premier called byelections for three ridings in the province: Edmonton-Strathcona, Edmonton-Ellerslie, and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.

“Albertans deserve better,” Nenshi said. “And that is what we are offering as we engage Edmontonians on their doorstep. They are telling us they are being let down by the UCP and are looking for representation that will be focused on their needs.

“We don’t have to settle for substandard public services, we don’t have to settle for unbridled corruption, we don’t have to settle for an incompetent government.”

The former Calgary mayor is running in the riding of Edmonton-Strathcona, which became vacant when former leader Rachel Notley resigned her seat late last year.

Nenshi is up against UCP press secretary Darby Crouch, who’s running for the governing party.

“This is my chance to be the voice for people and to represent Edmonton-Strathcona, because I care about the community and they just want someone to show up every day for them, not just part time,” Crouch said.

Edmonton-Ellerslie became vacant in March when three-term NDP member Rod Loyola resigned to run for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals in last month’s federal election.

Journalist Gurtej Singh Brar will carry the NDP banner in Edmonton Ellerslie, running against former Progressive Conservative MLA Nareesh Bhardwaj for the UCP.

“We are committed to making life more affordable by lowering the cost of auto insurance, utilities and housing,” said Singh Brar, who kicked off his campaign alongside Nenshi.

The NDP are likely to hold Ellerslie and Strathcona after winning those ridings in the last provincial election with 61 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively.

Perhaps the most interesting race is in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, which became vacant when former legislature Speaker and United Conservative representative Nathan Cooper resigned to become Alberta’s representative in Washington, D.C. The UCP dominated that riding in the last vote.

But the new Republican Party of Alberta, which is promising Alberta independence, should make it a tighter race in the conservative hotbed.

Party leader Cameron Davies is running, hoping to establish his party as a credible alternative to the UCP – perhaps even encouraging some MLAs to join his side.

“There are voices in favour of independence in the legislature,” Davies said. “They’re just with the UCP caucus at present under gag orders and unable to speak on behalf of their constituents.”

Albertans in those ridings will head to the polls on June 23. The next provincial election in the province will happen in 2027.

The campaigning comes as a new Janet Brown poll for the CBC suggests Smith’s party holds 52 per cent support Alberta-wide, and the NDP has slipped since 2023 – down to 38 per cent.

When asked by CityNews about the numbers, Nenshi replied: “I’m surprised you didn’t ask me about Environics’ poll that came out last week and shows the New Democrats have a six-point lead across the whole province. Polls are polls, man.”

UCP hosting massive fundraiser

Supporters of Alberta’s United Conservative Party will converge on Calgary’s Telus Convention Centre Thursday evening for what the party is calling “the largest political dinner in Alberta history.”

The party, which has formed government in the province since 2019, says the event is sold out with 2,000 attendees confirmed.

It says this breaks long-standing records for fundraising event attendance.

In 2007, 1,750 attended a dinner in support of Premier Ed Stelmach in Calgary, according to the party. In 2005, 1,700 attended the largest-ever dinner held in support of Premier Ralph Klein, which took place in Edmonton.

“Premier Smith’s United Conservative Party has now surpassed both,” the UCP said. “Under Premier Smith’s leadership, the UCP has hosted the two largest paid political conventions in Canadian history, built the largest provincial party in the country, and held sold-out events across Alberta all year long.”

UCP officials also claim the party has out-fundraised the NDP in each of the last nine consecutive quarters, including a three to one advantage in the most recent quarter.

Remarks from Smith are scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

–With files from Sean Amato