Former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi may have started his campaign to lead Alberta’s NDP with harsh words about Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party, but he adopted a softer tone last night for his first campaign meeting with Edmonton New Democrats.
Mr. Nenshi repeated his signature shot at the United Conservative Party from his March 11 leadership campaign launch – “this government is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, they’re not only incompetent, they’re dangerous, and they’re immoral.”
But the point of yesterday’s Edmonton visit was clearly to make a positive impression on what could have turned out to be a critical audience of Edmonton New Democrats.
In the event, it seems as if he needn’t have worried.
Mr. Nenshi probably didn’t even need to struggle into an Edmonton Oilers jersey and tell his audience that “you may not often see me in this, but I promise you this: I’m gonna show up for Edmonton.” (He was loudly and cheerfully applauded, and not just for that line.)
The man’s a natural comedian and a fine orator, so he got lots of laughs and didn’t struggle to speak without notes or a teleprompter.
But standing alone on an unadorned stage – without even the driving music typical of contemporary political campaigns – he did try hard to touch on all themes that would warm the hearts of old-style New Democrats and appeal to newcomers to the party as well.
And there were plenty of old-style NDPers there – so there was no shortage of grey hair in last night’s audience.
As leader and premier, Mr. Nenshi promised, he’d listen to experts, pay attention to science. He’d respect health care workers and find ways to show it. He’d try to broaden the NDP coalition but remember to be grateful for the remarkable talents of retiring Opposition Leader Rachel Notley and the traditional New Democrats who supported her.
He covered all the topics you’d expect a New Democrat leadership hopeful to touch on – the environment, health care, the Canada Pension Plan, inclusion, and minority rights – without too many details on policy questions.
He didn’t touch topics that might be less popular in Orange Edmonton – like severing the provincial party from the federal NDP or changing the name of the party.
When he showed up, looking tired, Mr. Nenshi was greeted by a packed house at the Polish Hall across the street from the Royal Alexandra Hospital. The room has a capacity of 600 with theatre seating, but with standing room only around the edges and a full gallery at the back, it looked like at least 100 more than that came out for the dinner-hour meeting.
Quite a few were merely curious, naturally, but there was real warmth in the hall – and it wasn’t just the heat generated by 700 people in a single room.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact former candidate Rakhi Pancholi, MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud – who had dropped out of the race earlier yesterday and urged her supporters to vote for Mr. Nenshi – was there with her family and her campaign team.
But if any old-style New Democrats distrustful of a guy wearing purple socks and an orange tie at the same time were in the room, they were too polite to show it with catcalls or even frowns last night.
Likewise, for those right-wing columnists who predicted dreamily that the Orange heartland of Edmonton would turn against Mr. Nenshi for being too closely associated with the Alberta Party of yore, or not enthusiastic enough about the NDP in last year’s provincial election, it didn’t happen yesterday.
It sure looked, for one night anyway, as if Mr. Nenshi is as popular in Edmonton as he is in Calgary, maybe even more so given the preponderance of NDP voters in this town.
So what was heard last night was a message that emphasized hope and inclusion – more Barack Obama than Donald Trump, more Jack Layton than Pierre Poilievre – and his audience at the Polish Hall responded enthusiastically.
Mr. Nenshi spoke for almost 40 minutes, and the crowd didn’t seem to flag or grow impatient.
Can he keep this up until June 22? Almost certainly not.
His remaining challengers – Kathleen Ganley, Sarah Hoffman, Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, and Gil McGowan – will doubtless sharpen their attacks and may even draw a little blood.
And as Alberta’s Conservatives have certainly demonstrated more than once, frontrunner isn’t necessarily the best place to start a party leadership race – and that’s the spot Mr. Nenshi most certainly occupies at this moment.
But it’s sure hard to argue he isn’t riding the crest of a wave right now.
I will hope for no blood to be drawn in this race. I will also hope we defeat this travesty of a “government” in the next election!
I’m one of those long-time NDPers who attended the rally last night. While Nenshi has yet to earn my first ballot support, I was surprised at how many fellow NDPers I spoke to have already made up their minds that Nenshi is our best chance to defeat the UCP in the next election and in the meantime hold them accountable.
I too noticed how eloquent, engaging and funny Nenshi was in his speech, all without the aid of a teleprompter. While Rachel Notley remains an effective speaker, in recent years she seems to have become more dependent on reading speeches off a teleprompter. This makes her sound scripted and comes at the expense of spontaneity and connection with her audience.
That’s a great turnout. It speaks volumes about disappointment with Danielle Smith and the UCP, because they earned that disrespect.
I found hope and energy in that room for the first time in years —and a real determination to defeat this wretched UCP government in the next election. I am convinced that Nenshi is the person to do it. Though clearly critical of the Smith government, Nenshi does not come off as negative in tone or manner. I’m not sure what it means that there were so many seniors in the audience. Is it that they can remember a time when strong social programs such as pensions and health care did not exist and thus know a threat when they see one? Or is it simply that they are no longer bogged down in jobs and family life and thus have time to pay attention to the issues of the day? Regardless, seniors are the ones most likely to vote, so their numbers are encouraging for Nenshi and for the subsequent provincial election. And last night, these oldsters leapt to their feet with considerable agility in more than one standing ovation. Clearly, not all older people are conservative in their leanings. They have the experience to know what can be lost if the UCP continue down the path they appear to going. My hope is that Nenshi will be able to generate the same kind of fervour in rural areas as well.
Lynda Somerville: The UCP has walked all over seniors, and other Albertans too. Outrageous utility prices, problems with prescription medication costs, healthcare concerns, and the risk of their CPP vanishing. They are very right to show concerns with what the UCP are doing.
It was a rousing introduction to his campaign. In some ways his speech reminded me of the “ordinary Albertan” charm of Ralph Klein. He has charm and intellect. I’m excited for what he brings to the party.
Kathy J Put: Ralph Klein had a phony charm, like Danielle Smith does. They easily fooled people, and this was a very costly mistake. People who could see right through them, weren’t duped, and didn’t support them. With Naheed Nenshi, we see someone who is honest, and who will take Danielle Smith and the UCP to account for their many very pricey blunders, and other failures, which is what the media didn’t do. Out of curiosity, was this event only for card carrying NDP members? Or could anyone attend?
Anonymous: Anyone could attend. The event was organized by the Nenshi campaign, not the party. DJC
Anonymous Having known Ralph Klein since I was 19 in 1962 it didn’t take long for me to realize what a jerk he was. Dad called him “ That sleazy bastard”. Lawyers told me dad was right that’s exactly what he was. Albertans are certainly paying for supporting him, aren’t they?
Alan K. Spiller: Wow. Your history with Ralph Klein certainly goes back a long time. Yes, Albertans are definitely still paying dearly for supporting Ralph Klein. They haven’t learned, because Danielle Smith is another Ralph Klein. Danielle Smith, like Ralph Klein, have the ability to tell people anything, and people believed them. Pierre Poilievre is the same way.
Can it be a coincidence that the mayors and municipalities of major cities in Alberta under siege?
Alberta needs relief from disruptive ideology.
windgrrl — I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all, going by —
Legislation for municipal parties in large Alberta cities,very likely, says Premier.
Joel Dryden/CBC news– Feb 27 2024
“Why do they want municipal political parties in large Alberta cities “…..Lisa asked?
Good question! IMHO–More ‘mercan style politics, voting in Sheriffs, Judges is going to be next. DS/ UCP agenda, she tells you what she’s going to do…..and unless there’s pushback, believe her.
The discussion around political parties in municipal politics has been a bit under the radar. My opinion is that there’s nothing inherently wrong with permitting this in the Local Authorities Elections Act, with certain provisos:
– cities and towns that are considering going down this route should consult their citizens through a plebiscite, one in which a majority in favour of parties is binding only if there is sufficient voter turnout … say, 50% of eligible voters
– while purpose-built municipal parties might be acceptable, there should be an absolute bar on parties that contest elections at a more senior level of government, or anyone associated with or employed by such a party, being able to set up municipal parties
– full disclosure of all financial contributions to municipal candidates and parties, and a ban on anyone other than a natural person ordinarily resident in that specific city or town from making such contributions
I haven’t had the cognitive bandwidth to do any sort of deep dive into the party systems in the two Canadians cities where I am fairly confident there are parties: Montréal and Vancouver. But, to the best of my knowledge, those parties only exist to contest municipal elections and are not affiliated with or connected to the provincial or federal parties.
What I certainly don’t want to see is US-style involvement of the main provincial or federal parties in municipal politics. Americans have Republican mayors and councils, and Democratic mayors and councils. I don’t want to see Conservative, Liberal, or even New Democrat mayors or councils in this country.
DJC
The good=Naheed Nenshi in Edmonton Edmonton Tuesday
The bad=Pierre Polievre in Edmonton Wednesday
The Ugly = Jordan Peterson is out to get Elmo*….OMG..sigh!
* This Hour has 22 min—
If Nenshi is to succeed he will have to convince a number of Edmontonian NDPers he is their best bet. There is of course a curiosity and interest about him in Edmonton now and I feel he is not burdened by political baggage or history as he is in Calgary, where his supporters and detractors seem evenly divided. So there is the potential for success here.
However Edmonton also has several leadership candidates with strong roots in both the party and community running, so it will not be a foregone conclusion for Nenshi to win it over. If he wants Edmonton’s support he will have to earn it.
Comparisons are not always accurate, but there was a dynamic Calgary politician who wowed Edmonton, maybe initially even more than his home town, many decades ago and went on to be one of Alberta’s most successful leaders. That was Lougheed. I feel just like then we are facing a very tired conservative leadership stuck in the past.
So as said earlier there is potential here and if nothing else the next few months will likely be an interesting political race.
Nenshi need not win Edmonton because it will go NDP regardless. Rural AB will go UCP regardless. Calgary remains the battleground and I doubt a Nenshi led NDP can take anymore seats than the party won in 2023. Nenshi’s candidacy is not the game changer it appears to be.
I think you may well be right. The NDP won several seats in Calgary by very narrow margins, and will be hard pressed to hang onto those if there is a low key campaign, if the economy is ticking along quite well etc.
Nenshi won the municipal campaign in 2010 by being organized and being able to motivate younger voters to show up and support him. The question is, can he do the same at the provincial level now that he is much more of a known quantity, and has considerable baggage (deserved or not).
You certainly can’t argue the inclusive politics of Barack Obama is certainly more preferable than the brand being offered by Donald Trump. You really got to hand it Obama. One minute he’s in a hall filled Texas oilmen taking credit for the fracking boom (“Have you checked where your stocks were when I came into office and where they are now? What are you complaining about?”). The next minute he’s fist bumping with Greta Thunberg during a photo op (“You and me, we’re a team”). Now that’s inclusive.
My god man, we know, it’s almost been a decade since he was president. There are a LOT of people down there who voted for the last time in 2020 and aren’t going to do it again in 2024, because of Obama, and his boy Genocide Joe.
The truly crazy thing about American politics is that for the last four years we have seen that TRULY there is no material difference in who occupies the White House. American politics (foreign policy especially) operates on auto pilot, and it’s universally bad.
They’re all criminals, & They think we are all stupid. They don’t care what we think, they don’t even care what regular Americans think. Red or Blue, they’re coming for you.
Emphasizing hope & inclusion????
TFIC—-
Danielle Smith letter to PMJT
….Dear PM,
All I’m asking for, because you know we had 10,140, and you dropped it to 9750, and we need more than that, so what I’m asking is for you to find another 390 +10,000, so you know we need the help, so if you could find us 10,390 Ukrainians**, cause it would really help us out……etc. etc.
Nice try DS, one thing about Ukrainians is we have long memories, we remember what you said when Russia invaded Ukraine and we also remember what your buddy PP did, voting against the Ukraine trade deal.
**FWIW— this is also like d’rump asking for immigrants from Norway only.
DJC & fellow commentors…
Happy Long Weekend!
for those celebrating…
A Happy Easter!!
I’m off to see if I can make some pysanky …..Cheers!!
In my opinion this is a three horse race. Mr. McGowen has already been mocked and discredited on many occasions by the UCP, so no one on that side will take him seriously. The other new comer does not strike me as having much experience and could be eaten alive by the UCP. Ms. Ganley, Ms Hoffman, and Mr. Nenshi are the ones I see as having the best shot at leadership, have some experience and ability to take on the UCP.
I’ve been waiting before commenting on Nenshi’s entry into the ABNDP leadership contest, because I have some misgivings and fair comment on about the prospect of this new direction for the party. All this reveals that this is definitely a turn in a direction that will leave a more centrist, if not a more right-wing version of the party.
In the UCP, there is a party that is more of an ideological clown show more than anything that proposes a single vision of governance. They don’t really have a single ideological agenda; rather, they have several, all seemingly running off in all directions at the same time, while allowing the contradictions to happen. The UCP are big on privatizing healthcare. But the second the whole thing collapses, they go running into the house on fire with a giant bucket of money, in the faint hope that they can drench the inferno under a pile of cash before anyone notices. This is without a doubt governance by ADHD, and it’s scary to live with.
While the ABNDP’s tenure in government was decidedly uneventful, there were instances where any effort to right wrongs, particularly in the labour code, were attempted, the government folded up with a house of cards. Why was Notley so reticent about justice in this regard? Because it offended rural voters, who don’t want to be reminded to be equitable in their dealings? Good. Those bumpkins needed a good and swift smack across their collective dimwits. However, Notley decided to run and that was pretty much the end of her leadership.
Nenshi, I suspect, is more of a pragmatist when it comes to governance, which means he has no intention of rocking the boat, lest he winds up with egg on his face, like Notley. Nenshi is a successful coalition builder. But it may come as a big surprise to those who believe in social-democracy that there may not be much to look forward to under his leadership.