How Naheed Nenshi stepped back into politics, becoming NDP leader in 2024

Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi began 2024 with no intention of getting back into politics, enjoying his “blessed retirement.” That all changed in January when a grid alert set a record for power consumption in the province.

“When I looked at what happened, I realized that this was entirely preventable and the government’s response was really bad,” Nenshi told CTV News Edmonton in a Dec. 5 year-end interview.

“When it’s -45 C in northern Alberta, you lose your grid and people die.”

It was then when the former Calgary mayor decided “somebody has got to do something.” That month former NDP leader Rachel Notley stepped down after almost a decade in the top job.

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In June, Nenshi received 86 per cent of the votes on the first ballot, beating out three sitting NDP MLAs.

The race helped the party grow from 16,000 members to nearly 86,000. He says the voter turnout and win caught him by surprise.

“It really showed that Albertans as a whole are really aching for something better,” Nenshi said.

Stepping into the legislature

While Nenshi is leading the official opposition, he doesn’t have a seat in the legislature, robbing him the chance to challenge the premier in the legislature.

While hesitant to admit, Nenshi says, “What happens in the legislature doesn’t matter, they’re (the UCP) not listening.”

“All you can do when you’re in the legislature is goad them a little bit and hope they slip up,” Nenshi said.

The opposition leader says he’d rather sit above the premier than sit across from her as “most of the work happens outside of the dome.”

However, if a seat were to open in Calgary or Edmonton, Nenshi says he would jump at the opportunity.

Earlier this month, former Alberta premier Rachel Notley left her seat in the legislature, representing Edmonton-Strathcona for almost 17 years. Nenshi has not announced if he will be running for Notley’s seat.

Challenging bills

The NDP have put forth over 20 amendments this session to try and “fix problems” with the UCP’s legislation.

Nenshi alleges the UCP government doesn’t realize there’s problems with its bills, especially with its “anti-trans hate bills.”

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The opposition leader says his party wanted to include clarification on parental rights.

“Right now, the way the bill is written is that you could be sitting in the doctor's office with your child, and the doctor could say to you, you know what? Here's the best practice,” Nenshi said as an example.

“This is what your child needs in terms of medical treatment, and I can't offer it to you because it's illegal.”

He claims Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to put forth controversial bills were a means to survive her leadership review. In November, she received 91 per cent support from the UCP.

“I sure hope it was worth it for her, because everything she's always said as a libertarian, as someone who believes in freedom, as someone who believes in rights, is not how she's acting as premier.”

Provincial interference

In May, the province said it would make changes to a bill that would allow the premier and her cabinet power to overturn local bylaws and fire mayors and councillors.

As a former mayor, Nenshi says the government is “jumping into things they don’t know about.”

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“What does the government actually know about public transit? They don't operate any trains or buses, they don't know how that system works, yet they want to get engaged in it,” Nenshi argued.

In October, new rules were announced around local political parties and how they’ll be funded. Both the Rural Municipalities Alberta (RMA) and Alberta Municipalities shared their disappointment with the final details after consulting with the province.

“They've made almost unlimited money to go behind certain candidates, and they've created these party systems only in Calgary and Edmonton,” Nenshi said.

He says the move is disrespectful to local politics and a way for Smith to get rid of Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

Adjusting to provincial politics

Coming from the world of municipal politics, Nenshi is learning to adjust to his provincial role.

He says his time as mayor was spent running the city and little time “dealing with politics.”

He says the challenge for him now in his new role within provincial politics is his “instinct to want to fix things.”

“When I see a piece of legislation that's bad, I want to make it less bad. But a lot of folks in opposition would say, well, that's not your job. Your job is to let them fail,” Nenshi said.

Nenshi will have the next three years to convince Albertans the NDP are not only a “credible alternative” to the UCP.

He claims Smith “cherry picks” statistics and quality of life for Albertans has declined since the UCP rose to power in 2019.

In Smith’s year-end interview with CTV News Edmonton, she says breaking up Alberta’s health-care system defined her government in 2024.

Smith says in the new year, the pieces will become more refined, something Nenshi doesn’t think will work, saying the province is “making it up as they go along and they’re spending millions.”

“I'm sorry to say, I don't have much hope. So what we need to do is work with Albertans to show them that hope is on the way, that better is possible, that we can come up with better systems,” Nenshi said.

The leader says his focus in the new year will be what Albertans care about: cost of living, jobs, health care, education and public safety.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Geoff Hastings and The Canadian Press