Naheed Nenshi eyed as front-runner as deadline looms in Alberta NDP leadership race
As a key deadline looms Monday in the leadership contest for Alberta's New Democrats, numbers and opinion suggest it remains Naheed Nenshi’s race to lose.
Members have until Monday night — with a midnight deadline — to buy a membership in order to cast a vote on June 22 on who will replace Rachel Notley as NDP leader and head of the Opposition.
Nenshi, a former Calgary mayor, has been drawing hundreds to party events and has already seen leadership rival Rakhi Pancholi read the numbers and quit the race to join his team.
He’s the outsider challenging party mainstays Sarah Hoffman and Kathleen Ganley.
Nenshi, a three-term mayor, does not have a track record with the NDP. He has promised his brand of purple politics – a mix of conservative blue and liberal red – is the common-sense hue Albertans seek.
He's been running a campaign primarily on what he opposes rather than what he proposes.
He has criticized Premier Danielle Smith’s governing United Conservative Party for regressive social politics on transgender youth and for picking partisan fights with the federal government.
Nenshi said he is depending on party members to develop an agenda ahead of the 2027 provincial election.
"We don't really know what additional hell the UCP is going to wreak on us over the next three years," Nenshi said in an interview.
Smith says Albertans lose no matter who wins given the provincial NDP takes orders from the federal wing and — given the NDP-Liberal power sharing deal in Ottawa — makes Notley’s successor yet another compliant errand runner to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"There's nothing that differentiates them,” Smith told reporters last week in answer to a question about her criticism of Nenshi’s campaign.
Nenshi said the party, which swept Edmonton and captured the most seats in Calgary in the 2023 election, is poised to grow quickly.
"They (Smith’s party) ought to be scared," he said.
But before taking on Smith, Nenshi must defeat four candidates, including Hoffman, a former health minister, and Ganley, a former justice minister and fellow Calgarian.
Hoffman said sales are only one leg of the race.
When the deadline passes, she said, the “persuasion phase” begins.
“Just because somebody bought a membership through one person's website, or through one person's door knocking, doesn't mean that they're entitled to their vote,” said Hoffman at a news conference last week.
Ganley, who has focused on economic issues in her campaign, acknowledged Nenshi "might be the front-runner" but said her membership sales have skyrocketed.
"At this point, it's anyone's game," she said, noting there could be a shift in the base of the party's support from its traditional stronghold of Edmonton.
"People are being persuaded by ideas," she said.
The remaining two candidates are considered long shots. Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse is a rookie NDP legislature member and Gil McGowan is head of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
In interviews, both said they are turning heads once members hear their ideas for moving the party forward.
The party plans to publicly update its membership list by May 12.
As of December, it counted just over 16,000 members.
Party executive director Garett Spelliscy said in a statement Sunday, "This leadership race will be decided by the largest membership in the Alberta NDP’s 62-year history.”
Pancholi dropped out of the race in late March after saying she had seen figures indicating memberships had doubled since Nenshi put his hat in the ring.
Political observers say Nenshi is in the driver’s seat.
"If the vote happens tomorrow, it's a coronation," said political scientist Duane Bratt, with Mount Royal University in Calgary.
"The only way that I think Hoffman can pull this off, or Ganley can pull this off, is if they put enough doubt in the minds of those who bought memberships for Nenshi either to not show up or change their mind over the next two months.”
University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young said it's unlikely those who buy a membership by the deadline will shift their vote.
"It's Nenshi's to lose,” said Young.
"I suspect that he knows that he has won this, and he's already looking forward to his next challenge, which is uniting the party behind him.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2014.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Biscuits with possible plastic pieces, metal found in ground pork: Here are the recalls for this week
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
More than half of Canadians say freedom of speech is under threat, new poll suggests
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Police move in to clear NYU encampment, U.S. campus arrests grow to 2,200 in pro-Palestinian protests
Police moved in to clear an encampment at New York University on Friday at the request of school officials, a move that follows weeks of pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses nationwide that have resulted in nearly 2,200 arrests by police.
Feds giving Toronto more than $104M to host 2026 FIFA World Cup
The federal government will provide Toronto just over $104 million in funding to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Wally, the emotional support alligator once denied entry to a baseball game, is missing
Emotional support animal registrations in the United States reached 115,832 last year, by an industry group’s count. But in the eyes of reptile rescuer Joie Henney, there’s only one: 'Wally Gator.'
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Drew Barrymore explains how she accidentally left a list of her romantic partners at Danny DeVito's house
Danny DeVito had the opportunity to know way more about Drew Barrymore than the rest of us.
'Bare-adise' adventure: This nude cruise is due to set sail from Miami in 2025
What do you need to pack for a cruise? When it comes to this upcoming cruise from tour and travel company Bare Necessities, the answer appears to be very little.