Nenshi ready for by-election

By Lethbridge Herald on May 30, 2025.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is ready to finally fight for a seat in the Alberta legislature.

On Thursday, Nenshi officially launched his campaign to seek election in the riding of Edmonton-Strathcona, which was vacated by his predecessor, former Premier Rachel Notley.

Nenshi, a former mayor of Calgary, was joined in his announcement by Gurtej Singh Brar, who stated his plan to run in the riding of Edmonton-Ellersbie.

By-elections in those ridings will be staged on June 23. A third by-election is set that day for the riding of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.

Nenshi was nominated for the Strathcona riding in January. Notley stepped down as MLA on Dec. 30 after serving the riding for 16 years.

Nenshi told the Herald last October he would jump at an opportunity to run for election as soon as one arose. The comment came after premier Danielle Smith said while campaigning with Lethbridge West UCP candidate John Middleton-Hope that in the interests of taxpayers, she would prefer to hold two byelections at the same time. Smith eventually called the  Lethbridge West byelection for late December. That election was won by NDP candidate Rob Miyashiro.

Nenshi won the NDP leadership last June with a whopping 86 per cent of the vote on the first ballot, garnering 62,746 votes to beat MLAs  Kathleen Ganley, Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse and Sarah Hoffman.

“We’re launching three byelections today because we have three ridings that need representation in our provincial legislature,” said Nenshi, noting that Strathcona has been without an MLA for nearly six months. 

Meanwhile, the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills by-election comes barely two weeks after the riding’s former MLA, Nathan Cooper, stepped down to take a new position in Washington, D.C.

“When the UCP lost their MLA, they seemed to want to call the election quickly,” said Nenshi, who has been ruling the NDP from the gallery for several months.

Nenshi said under the UCP, the so-called Alberta Advantage is eroding.

He pointed out that salaries here are falling further behind the national average and called the government wasteful and defined by cuts, chaos and corruption.

“People deserve a better choice.”
Nenshi said he feels very much part of the community in Edmonton  Strathcona.

“I’m falling in love with that riding,” he said, adding the party needs to fight for all three ridings as well as the province and country. Byelections often don’t matter because they aren’t going to change the government, but these three are critical because “the premier is gambling with the future of this country and this is an opportunity for voters in all three of those ridings to send a message to the premier and say, ‘you do not have a mandate to this. This entire session you passed laws that you never campaigned on, you’ve abandoned promises like the promise for the South Edmonton Hospital.’”

He said to save her political skin, Smith is “gambling with the future of our country.”

Calling the UCP “separatists,” Nenshi said voters only have one option at the polls if they love Canada and believe the country is worth fighting for.

When asked about a recent Janet Brown Opinion Research poll commissioned by the CBC that showed more than 50 per cent of Albertans support the UCP, Nenshi pointed to an Environics poll indicating the NDP holds a six-point lead over its rivals.

“Polls…are for firemen and dogs,” he joked. “Let’s see what happens in these elections. The real poll is how people vote in these byelections.” shi said he feels very much part of the community in Edmonton Strathcona.

“I’m falling in love with that riding,” he said, adding the party needs to fight for all three ridings as well as the province and country.

Byelections often don’t matter because they aren’t going to change the government, but these three are critical because “the premier is gambling with the future of this country and this is an opportunity for voters in all three of those ridings to send a message to the premier and say, ‘you do not have a mandate to this. This entire session you passed laws that you never campaigned on, you’ve abandoned promises like the promise for the South Edmonton Hospital.’”

He said to save her political skin, Smith is “gambling with the future of our country.”

Calling the UCP “separatists,” Nenshi said voters only have one option at the polls if they love Canada and believe the country is worth fighting for.

When asked about a recent Janet Brown Opinion Research poll commissioned by the CBC that showed more than 50 per cent of Albertans support the UCP, Nenshi pointed to an Environics poll indicating the NDP holds a six-point lead over its rivals.

“Polls…are for firemen and dogs,” he joked. “Let’s see what happens in these elections. The real poll is how people vote in these byelections.” 

choice.”shi said he feels very much part of the community in Edmonton Strathcona.

“I’m falling in love with that riding,” he said, adding the party needs to fight for all three ridings as well as the province and country.

Byelections often don’t matter because they aren’t going to change the government, but these three are critical because “the premier is gambling with the future of this country and this is an opportunity for voters in all three of those ridings to send a message to the premier and say, ‘you do not have a mandate to this. This entire session you passed laws that you never campaigned on, you’ve abandoned promises like the promise for the South Edmonton Hospital.’”

He said to save her political skin, Smith is “gambling with the future of our country.”

Calling the UCP “separatists,” Nenshi said voters only have one option at the polls if they love Canada and believe the country is worth fighting for.

When asked about a recent Janet Brown Opinion Research poll commissioned by the CBC that showed more than 50 per cent of Albertans support the UCP, Nenshi pointed to an Environics poll indicating the NDP holds a six-point lead over its rivals.

“Polls…are for firemen and dogs,” he joked. “Let’s see what happens in these elections. The real poll is how people vote in these byelections.”

shi said he feels very much part of the community in Edmonton Strathcona.

“I’m falling in love with that riding,” he said, adding the party needs to fight for all three ridings as well as the province and country.

Byelections often don’t matter because they aren’t going to change the government, but these three are critical because “the premier is gambling with the future of this country and this is an opportunity for voters in all three of those ridings to send a message to the premier and say, ‘you do not have a mandate to this. This entire session you passed laws that you never campaigned on, you’ve abandoned promises like the promise for the South Edmonton Hospital.’”

He said to save her political skin, Smith is “gambling with the future of our country.”

Calling the UCP “separatists,” Nenshi said voters only have one option at the polls if they love Canada and believe the country is worth fighting for.

When asked about a recent Janet Brown Opinion Research poll commissioned by the CBC that showed more than 50 per cent of Albertans support the UCP, Nenshi pointed to an Environics poll indicating the NDP holds a six-point lead over its rivals.

“Polls…are for firemen and dogs,” he joked. “Let’s see what happens in these elections. The real poll is how people vote in these byelections.”