In a sure-footed move, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi today named Christina Gray as Leader of the Opposition until he wins a seat in the Legislature.
Ms. Grey, who has represented the Edmonton-Mill Woods Riding since 2015, will serve as Opposition leader in addition to continuing in her previous role as NDP House Leader, Mr. Nenshi told a brief early afternoon news conference in the Queen Elizabeth II Building on the Legislative Building grounds in downtown Edmonton.
As everybody understands, for strategic reasons Mr. Nenshi is in no hurry to seek election to the House when he can leave that job in Ms. Gray’s capable hands and get on with the important work of campaigning in every corner of Alberta, which, after all, is how to actually win elections.
The new NDP leader also named former leadership candidate Rakhi Pancholi, who stepped out of the race and endorsed his candidacy on March 26, as deputy leader of the NDP, his official sidekick.
This was also a shrewd move that rewards the support of the MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud with a prestigious position while leaving the arguably more important Parliamentary job to an experienced MLA who is respected and liked among NDP Caucus members and staff.
Ms. Pancholi, a well-spoken lawyer who was first elected in 2019 and lacks cabinet experience, will be needed in the months ahead outside the Legislature. Mr. Nenshi told the news conference that talking to Albertans in their communities will become the focus of greater emphasis than during former leader Rachel Notley’s tenure.
Wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey under a conservative grey suit jacket and exuding confidence, Mr. Nenshi told a reporter: “I’m in no rush to get a seat, I don’t much care about titles. … I actually think that having not been in the Legislature before, having been in politics in a different way, I bring a set of fresh eyes to the situation.”
What he really meant, as he went on to admit, is “I really want to ensure that we’re out in the community talking to Albertans.”
“We’re going to be less focused on having the perfect Question Period zinger and much more focused on … building a vision of a better Alberta with the rest of Albertans,” he said, adding, “I likely will not run in Lethbridge-West.” A by-election is expected in that riding soon as a result of the resignation of its MLA, former NDP environment minister Shannon Phillips.
If this doesn’t worry Premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party Government, it should, as Mr. Nenshi has already proved repeatedly he knows how to win elections and is now laying out a strategy that is more likely engage voters than one that emphasizes what he dismissively summed up as Dome Disease.
And this does seem to have thrown the UCP into a panic, at least for now, judging from the frenetic buzzing and hysterical cries emitted by the army of anonymous bots turned loose on social media today. It’s only Mr. Nenshi’s first full day on the job and already the UCP online auxiliary is starting to sound as if it works for an Opposition party!
As for Ms. Gray, she is not a showboat, just one of the most competent MLAs in the NDP Caucus.
Many New Democrats were disappointed when she didn’t run for the leadership after pondering the idea for a spell, and will be glad to see her in the role. Her appointment will please many traditional New Democrats who worried Mr. Nenshi might drift too far from the party’s roots, even if it’s not enough to completely satisfy what some insiders call the Strathcona Mafia.
The former computer software developer also has cabinet experience, as holder of the difficult Labour portfolio in Ms. Notley’s government, where she earned the respect of the province’s union leaders without giving them everything they wanted.
On her watch, she restored some sanity and balance to Alberta’s labour legislation, only to see it mostly dismantled in Jason Kenney’s Trump-like post-election spree of undoing anything that had been touched by the NDP, his so-called “Summer of Repeal.” In Cabinet, she pushed hard for an increase in the minimum wage.
Unlike some other former ministers, who could be extremely difficult to work with, Ms. Gray is also well liked by her former political staffers, who even say nice things about her behind her back.
More changes will be coming in the next few weeks, Mr. Nenshi said. The Legislature is not scheduled to sit again until Oct. 28.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Nenshi met with Ms. Notley, who has now resigned that post although she remains an MLA, posing for photos in their Oilers jerseys – orange and blue for the former leader and white for the incoming one. I’ll leave it to readers to puzzle out the implications of that.
“. . . as Mr. Nenshi has already proved repeatedly he knows how to win elections . . . ”
He sure is a clever guy alright.
“Nenshi was known for pioneering the use of social media in political campaigns. . . . After university, Nenshi worked for McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm, as an engagement manager. He advised large telecommunications companies, banks, retail businesses and oil and gas companies with corporate strategies. In 2001, he founded his own consulting firm, the Ascend Group. Its clients came to include the United Nations, the Alberta government and various clothing retailers. . . . After taking office, Nenshi was a staunch supporter of the Alberta oil industry, which makes its corporate headquarters in Calgary. He was also a vocal proponent of new and expanded pipelines to carry Alberta oil to foreign markets — a controversial stance among other big-city Canadian mayors outside Alberta.”
Hero worship is best left to gullible children and adolescents. Due diligence and its related idea/maxim, caveat emptor, are theoretical principles that in practice are designed to either minimize, or wholly mitigate buyers remorse. Yet, the voting public, for many reasons, is still stuck in a repetitive cycle of wide eyed born again suckers. Or, as everyone already knows, “The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies… is a foolish idea. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can throw the rascals out at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy. Then it should be possible to replace it, every four years if necessary, by the other party which will be none of these things but will still pursue, with new vigor, approximately the same basic policies.”
It’s regrettable that David Shepherd may not have a strong presence in Nenshi’s group. Personality clashes are possible, but Shepard is a passionate and invaluable advocate. A strong role for Janis Irwin would be a major coup, as Irwin is a perpetually strong player.
I feel those in politics sometimes become too focused on what is said in the Legislature. While passing and debating laws is important, a majority government generally does what it wants despite any of the opposition’s compelling arguments. And 95% of the time the public doesn’t notice or pay attention to this debate.
Those most succesful in politics know you have to meet people where they are to best try understand their concerns and problems. Those in government with large staffs and some other long serving MLAs seem most susceptible to Dome disease, a term I am not keen on, but does succinctly describe the condition.
To be fair, I thought Notley and her team did make an effort to get out over the years, but Nenshi can bring entusiam, a fresh set of eyes and new perspective to the party in this regard. He can be quite engaging listening and meeting people, it is one of his strengths. So it is smart to let a strong and experienced team hold down the fort while he goes out and does exactly that. He has also nicely contrasted himself with Smith. We’re not sure exactly where she lives now, but she seemed hesitant to run in Calgary where she seemed to spend much of her career, probably because it was possible she might not win there. I don’t know if it is true, but I have heard she does not get down to her Medicine Hat constituency much these days.
As for the hockey jerseys, Notley obviously gets the home one as a long time Edmontonian and Nenshi will be on the road a lot so it make sense he now gets the away one.
Already, Postmedia columnists who are merely mouthpieces for the UCP, are trying to discredit Naheed Nenshi and the NDP. The comment sections in these newspapers are full of people who are trying to defend the UCP, who have a very abysmal track record in government. All they do is bad mouth anybody that doesn’t support their narrow minded beliefs. Based on his electoral history, including the results of the NDP leadership race, Naheed Nenshi is miles ahead for support, in comparison to Danielle Smith. Albertans didn’t learn their lesson with Danielle Smith, and supported a two time loser as their premier. Naheed Nenshi will see to it that the UCP are finished. Those that supported Naheed Nenshi and the NDP, are former Conservatives, who have no liking for phony Conservatives and Reformers, who cheat us out of our oil and tax wealth, that costs us billions of dollars, do other very pricey boondoogles that also cost us so much money, destroy jobs, ruin public education and public healthcare, so they can be privatized, increase poverty, ruin the environment, make utility and insurance costs go through the roof, and cause other problems. When the NDP are wanting to return to the good governance of Peter Lougheed, we know we are on the right track.
Uniforms = dark color @ home & white for ‘away’ games
….lol Nice touch!!
The Strathcona Mafia! First I’ve heard of it. Sounds like a tough crowd. I suppose my days as an insider are long gone. 😉
Mark: I would say that’s probably right. I have been forbidden to attribute that one more specifically, though. DJC
The 3 of them look like a winning team to me!
The Federal NDP handed the by-election to the Tories. Neshi was right, after 40 years, three candidacies, and being attached to the Notley clan, like family, I am done. Jasmit did me in. The right-wing needs more adversaries and will henceforth be there as a Federal Liberal. Tough call.
Great article. Since we’re talkin’ fashion and meaning–that’s one snazzy & unconservative pocket square.