Lethbridge West by-election gave Nenshi insights into local issues
By Lethbridge Herald on December 27, 2024.
Herald photo by Justin Seward
Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, alongside, Lethbridge-West NDP candidate Rob Miyashiro and supporters, speaks during a rally ahead of the byelection.NDP leader says UCP’s
John Middleton-Hope
was good candidate
Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald
Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi spent a lot of time in southern Alberta as Rob Miyashiro campaigned to win the seat in West Lethbridge vacated by Shannon Phillips in July.
Since being elected leader of the party earlier this year, Nenshi has gotten to know the city well and the candidate who succeeded this month in keeping that seat away from the governing UCP.
“It feels terrific,” Nenshi said of Miyashiro’s victory during a year-end interview recently.
“As a leader, this is a very, very rare opportunity because normally in an election, you’ve got to be over the whole province. And the fact that I’ve been able to spend so much time in Lethbridge.. .has been a blessing. I’ve gotten to know the city so much better,” said Nenshi.
He said the time spent in Lethbridge has given him an opportunity to better understand the issues going on in southern Alberta.
“For me, that’s probably been the best part of my first seven months is spending so much time in Lethbridge.”
Nenshi said he was “super excited” about the election result, noting some people had told him Lethbridge West was a Shannon Phillips seat, not an NDP seat, a seat that would be difficult to keep.
“The UCP threw everything they had to try to win that seat. They spent a lot of money,” he said.
And in John Middleton-Hope, the UCP “selected a very good candidate, a very moderate candidate,” said Nenshi.
“And they very cynically scheduled the election just before Christmas because they didn’t want students or busy families with young kids to vote. We ended up with I think the highest voter turnout ever in a by-election, almost all of it in the advance polls,” added the NDP leader.
“To me I take that as a message that the people of Lethbridge are much smarter than the UCP takes them for. They basically said ‘don’t try to mess around with us, we want democracy’. . . Rob didn’t just win, he crushed it.
“I’m very, very happy,” added Nenshi.
The leader said he’s proud of the candidates the NDP attracts to its party, including Miyashiro and Bridget Mearns who also sought to represent the party in Lethbridge West.
“It makes me feel really good about our future,” he said.
Middleton-Hope, he said, had to identify with an unpopular premier with “a bunch of indefensible positions. They’re not just where Alberta is and I feel bad for John because he had a choice – he had to defend stuff he absolutely doesn’t believe in or he says it like it is. And I was proud he actually admitted there are some things that he just couldn’t stand with this government on,” added Nenshi.
With the provincial government announcing its new coal policy days before Christmas, Nenshi mentioned how Minister of Energy and Mines Brian Jean stood up in the legislature in November and told the House that selenium is a vital nutrient for mammals but it can harm fish eggs if there is too much.
“Well, it can harm a hell of a lot more than fish eggs. He was treating it so lightly,” said Nenshi.
“There is no technology, there’s not one project in the world that has been able to control selenium discharge so they’re making it up as they go along,” said Nenshi of the new policy.
Nenshi, a student of government his entire life, says “I have never seen a government quite like this one before. This is a government that is fundamentally uninterested in being a government. They don’t care about fixing problems, they just care about political gain and maintaining their position and picking fights. They have nothing else,” said Nenshi.
Of 13 bills the UCP introduced in the fall election, Nenshi said none addressed affordability, public safety or jobs.
“The only thing they had to say about health and education were the anti-trans hate bills. So they just don’t want govern” which Nenshi said is frustrating for his party which wants to fix issues and have debates about how to address problems.
“They don’t want to even talk about the very real problems that Albertans face. They just want to do whatever the most recent lobbyist they talked to wants them to do. They want to appoint their cronies to positions and give themselves raises.”
25-24
Let’s just say, “putting lipstick on a pig”. Mr. Nenshi can gloat all he wants regarding the Rob Miyashiro win (for now) in Lethbridge West.
Mark my words, it will not be long before Miyashiro shows his true colours. Arrogance, bully, poor organizer and entitled are all proven characteristics of Miyashiro.
For now, we have to tollerate him until the next Provincial election, or until he, (like Shannon Phillips before him) up and resigns due to non-competence and disregard for Lethbridge West constituents.
And happiness of the season to you too..even if there is a little pouting & crying.
your words are beyond the pale.
Wonder if he gained any insight into Miyashiro and his ex mayors solid support of a SCS in Lethbridge. Maybe try one up at the Castle region next to gain some insight there.
It’s a relief to see Mr. Nenshi begin to build the next Alberta government with capable representatives like Mr. Miyashiro.
As we watch our current premier flirt with the tyranny to the south, loyalty to Canada becomes an emerging issue. Along with a functional health and education system, control of our resources from foreign influence and political corruption, a healthy environment, effective care for those in need, some independence in municipal governance, a safe and effective CPP, …
According to your remarks, Mr. Nenshi, you seem to know everything. You lack grace. Why do not you have a seat in the legislature, may I ask? You are aware that you would never be elected anywhere in Calgary in a by-election, but you still can not see why people would not support you.
Our family was directly impacted by NDP policies after moving into Lethbridge a few years ago, then moving to a nearby community because of multiple breakins and property damage and our kids experienced negative behaviours. It cost us over $16,000! But in true fashion, the NDP fails to acknowledge the damage they did!
My husband and I did find your remarks amusing and laughable! You are not able to see or comprehend the situations facing our province in the future.
Are you aware that many communities are abandoning the RCMP as the federal contract with them expires on March 31, 2032, for provincial and municipal policing?
Several coal mining corporations are suing Alberta for abandoning projects that may cost the province’s citizens more than $15 billion, with current lawsuits of $10.8 billion. How much would it cost to terminate the Grassy Mountain project? Will the project be shut down in another way? And that the majority of Albertans would not support switching from the CPP to the APP? And there must be a majority in the referendum?
However, there were enough which voiced concerns to warrant the research into an APP!
After the NDP decimated the province with its failed harm reduction policies and drug consump-tion sites that killed thousands of people and cost our taxpayers billions of dollars, with the UCP is still cleaning up the mess left by the NDP, you fail to acknowledge the damage done!
The NDP has demonstrated how to devastate a province next door in BC!