As promised, the Alberta NDP has now announced the timing and basic rules for the leadership campaign and election to replace Rachel Notley.
Thanks principally to Ms. Notley’s success in the 2015 general election, which saw the NDP elect a majority government, this leadership election is going to have to be a considerably more elaborate thing than the small family affair in October 2014 that saw her chosen as leader.
In a news release sent to media on Saturday, Amanda Friestadt, the chief returning officer for the leadership race, said the application form for the prospective contestants will be available today.
The race will formally begin on Feb. 5 and it will conclude after the final day of voting by party members at noon on June 22, the news release said.
Soon after party officials met in Red Deer to set the campaign rules, Edmonton-Glenora MLA Sarah Hoffman announced on social media she was resigning her positions as deputy party leader, assistant whip, and municipal affairs critic and said that she was “filled with hope and optimism for the future of our party.”
I’m pretty sure that means we can safely assume she’ll be running for the leadership.
On Jan. 10, Calgary-Mountain View MLA Kathleen Ganley posted a social media video that was widely seen as a soft launch of her campaign. We can probably expect Ms. Ganley to re-launch it with a little more detail shortly.
Since Calgary is likely to continue to be the key to any hopes the NDP has of returning to power in the next general election, Ms. Ganley and her backers will likely emphasize the importance of her postal code.
Both Edmonton-Whitemud MLA Rakhi Pancholi and Edmonton-City Centre MLA David Shepherd have indicated recently that they are interested in running as well, and for days there has been a buzz in political circles that former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi might be a prospective candidate too.
“To vote in the leadership race, members must be in good standing by purchasing or renewing their membership by April 22, 2024,” the party news release said. That would seem to leave the door open to Mr. Nenshi, should he actually be interested and assuming he doesn’t already have a party card in his wallet.
“Membership is open to all Alberta residents aged 14 and older who support the Alberta NDP and want to help the party build a better future,” the release said, which makes one wonder if some day we could see a lower voting age in more Alberta elections. Other parties permit leadership votes to be cast by youth members too.
The Alberta NDP constitution requires a mail-in ballot as well as online voting, and the party will also provide a telephone option, Ms. Friestadt said, noting that she expects to post the full rules on the web this week.
“Our leadership race will have a spending limit of $500,000 per leadership contestant,” Ms. Friestadt added. “Unlike the UCP, which required over $175,000 in fees and deposits from candidates, our leadership race will require fees that total $60,000.”
It is said here the NDP could, and probably should, have gone higher. After all, this is a serious race to lead a serious party now.
“Unlike the UCP, our candidates will be united in building on Rachel Notley’s legacy and moving our party forward, because we are rooted in our values and principles, and we listen to Albertans, not extremist backers,” Ms. Friestadt concluded.
At least one of those UCP extremists has promised to run a mischievous campaign to mess with the NDP leadership campaign, so that will give Ms. Friestadt something to keep an eye on.
NDP memberships ca be purchased online at albertandp.ca/join.
Say what? Red Tape Reduction Week?
Meanwhile, in an outburst of irony, the UCP has chosen this morning to declare “Red Tape Reduction Week.”
In case you missed it, this is ironic because the UCP’s speciality is creating red tape to mess with its chosen ideological enemies, such as unions, family doctors, teachers, and progressive municipal councils.
To be truly honest, Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally, the cabinet’s least significant member, should declare this to be something more accurate, such as Health, Safety and Consumer Protection Regulation Reduction Week, or Letting Corporations Draft Their Own Laws Week.
The announcement will take place inside the Arden Theatre in St. Albert starting at 10 a.m.
Undoubtedly, Rachel Notley will be missed. She was the closest premier to Peter Lougheed that Alberta ever had. Cabinet members who were part of Peter Lougheed’s government, had said this. Hopefully, an apt replacement comes up. Meanwhile, we have Danielle Smith and the UCP who ate the farthest thing to being a Conservative government. They are inflicting so much damage to Alberta, that it will be a very big mess to clean up.
CBC Calgary’s ‘West of Centre’ podcast played a clip of Neheed Nenshi pooh-poohing down any speculation that he might run, and the panellists on the pod emphasized his well-known disdain for party politics.
IMHO what the NDP needs isn’t some outsider-saviour to be the provincial equivalent to the decidedly unlamented Thomas Mulcair — who strolled into the federal NDP leadership from Quebec Liberal politics to destroy Jack Layton’s legacy.
No, the NDP needs a steady hand with roots in the party to take the party from its current position as a competitive political grouping in a province whose political culture isn’t yet accustomed to that sort of thing, and lead it to victory in the next election. That should be the only criterion for members to consider when voting.
They also need to fire all the corporate lobbyists whose advice cost them the 2023 election.
https://breachmedia.ca/ndp-lobbyists/
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/01/29/How-Alberta-NDP-Lost-Out-2023/
Re: Red Tape Reduction Week
The UCP had to wait for this week to have a red tape reduction week, cuz last week they were busy creating red tape for municipalities.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/danielle-smith-alberta-municipal-deals-analysis-1.7092707
Red tape is evil and must be stopped!!! The trick is to decide what’s red tape.
According to RepubliCons, “red tape” is any regulation that interferes with a business owner’s ability to make money as fast as possible. You know, like forcing them to clean up abandoned oil wells, or inspecting commercial kitchens to make sure they’re clean and safe, or maybe inspecting meat-packing plants to prevent the spread of e. coli. Yeah, you know, useless stuff.
But other stuff is different! Messing with unions, breaking doctors’ contract with the province, telling Edmonton city council to do as they’re told, and oh yeah, telling parents little Johnny wants to be referred to as “they,” not “he”—these are not red tape. No, this is “protecting the rights and freedoms of Albertans.”
Mike J Danysh: The consequences of cutting red tape have been lost on the UCP. There were very unfortunate consequences, as we know.
https://www.townandcountrytoday.com/local-news/province-ends-accreditation-for-childcare-centres-2147430
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-lessons-of-walkerton-were-lost-on-danielle-smiths-government/
I wonder how many UCP fanboys/apparatchiks/zealots will try to buy NDP memberships? And will we ever learn how much they cost themselves, if the NDP does the smart thing and keeps their membership fees? (They better post a warning that “fees are not refundable if submitted under false pretenses.”)
Hey Dave, the red tape link goes to the ndp web site. Intentional? Just in case you haven’t already had 687 comments about it….
Thanks!
Cool: Thanks. Not intentional. An error, now fixed. DJC
Well for red tape reduction start by reducing the number of cabinet positions in Alberta. Betcha dotty Danni can’t do it!
Nope, for 2 reasons. She needs the sound of friendly voices around her, and she needs to “keep her friends close and her enemies closer”–like any party leader, but much, much more so when her “friend” is David Parker.
Best of luck to the NDP in its leadership quest. In Ontario since the Bob Rae era ended in 1995 we have had a succession of well meaning NDP leaders but their success has been limited to official opposition or third party status. The crystal ball does not foresee the party forming the government anytime soon. Your chances in Alberta seem much stronger.
If the NDP couldn’t win with Rachel Notley as leader, I worry for their chances in the next election. Maybe there is someone in the party who will surprise us. It shouldn’t be that hard to go up against Danielle Smith who can scarcely finish a sentence without lying.
Public Servant: Danielle Smith lied, and that’s what made the UCP get another term. Rachel Notley still retained her seat. Because Danielle Smith lies at an unprecedented rate, she likely won’t maintain a complete full term as premier of Alberta.
The NDP and those whom support it need to stop thinking about the leader as the one being elected. As pointed out, Rachel Notley hasn’t lost an election in a very long time, the NDP lost enough RIDINGS* to the UCP they weren’t able to form government. Edmonton-Strathcona isn’t the issue, it’s Ponoka, it’s wapiti, it’s west yellowhead, etc. the UCP understands this, the NDP (and their supporters) are having a hard time with it.
Hopefully the NDP leadership race will be interesting. Some leadership contests with other parties in the recent past have been somewhat boring – the winner was a forgone conclusion and they have been overly drawn out.
I would be quite surprised if Nenshi was a candidate but I suppose we are at the point where a number of names may be speculated on.
Meanwhile, the UCP will be working hard to encumber those it is wary of or doesn’t like in red tape, while reducing it for those it feels more warmly towards. Perhaps it offsets overall, although it certainly isn’t reduction, more like reallocation. However, I suppose red tape reallocation doesn’t sound quite so good politically.
Choices, choices, so many choices to choose from. Of course it’s hard to know what pending disaster will come to fruition because of Danielle Smith’s UCP, when it’ll happen or if, indeed, it is already here but, if I had to pick one, it’d be healthcare—and probably nowhere more than Alberta does that have to be qualified as universal public healthcare, that being a given everywhere else in the country. So much of Smith’s agenda is veiled and euphemistic in a bid to douse alarm, but her plan to wreck public healthcare is plain enough. And so is the certainty that it’ll be a disaster from any point of view.
That’s why Sara Hoffman, Premier Notely’s minster of health when public healthcare had a friend in power, is easily a frontrunner in the race to replace Rachel Notley.
But if the rumour about Naheed Nenshi possibly joining the race to become Alberta’s next premiere is really true, then he might have an edge on Ms Hoffman despite her formidable credential —note the singular.
The former mayor of Calgary is not only quite popular in the battleground city of the province’s last election, the city which but for a few thousand votes in a couple of Cowtown ridings would have put Rachel Notley back into the premier’s office, he might also be, given the nature of municipal as opposed to provincial politics, more adept at herding cats. That’s be one-upping Ms Hoffman.
Until—or if—Nenshi announces his candidacy, I would, if I could, vote for Ms Hoffman in a heartbeat.
The Dippers are a pleasant foil to the snarling gong-show that is Danielle Smith’s rookie premiership of her schizophrenic-zombie party.
THE ONLY THING that will pull more seats in Calgary is better candidates in Calgary, better organizing in Calgary, and better communication to Calgary voters about how the NDP will benefit their material conditions. Thinking the leader will magically flip seats because they are “more popular” in Calgary is just that ; magical thinking.
The NDP party in Alberta is full of strong intelligent people which encompasses all walks of life. It is a party of diverse talents and perspectives. The new leader will be a strong person who will take the party to win the next Alberta Provincial Election.