4 candidates shrug off suggestion Nenshi has Alberta's NDP leadership in the bag
Despite Edmonton MLA Rakhi Pancholi's insistence Naheed Nenshi is front-running the race to lead Alberta's NDP, the other four candidates tell CTV News they're confident nothing has been decided yet.
"I think it's premature to position Nenshi as the head leader in this race," Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse said Tuesday.
"This is my life's work, and I'm committed to seeing it to the end."
The current MLA says her "progressive position around water" sets her ahead of the pack.
"It's Alberta's most precious resource, and we need to be strategically protecting it to ensure the next generation has the water they need, as well as industry," Calahoo Stonehouse said.
"It really is the basis of our economic diversification."
Another Edmonton MLA, Sarah Hoffman, said Tuesday she's "never felt better" about her campaign.
"My three big pillars are health care, climate change and housing, and there are a lot of people who are really happy to have a leader of the NDP and a premier who's going to take serious action on those things," Hoffman said.
"I'm staying in it, I'm going to be in it at the end and I'm going to win this campaign."
Fellow MLA Kathleen Ganley has also been a popular choice amongst Alberta voters in the past.
She brushed aside any talk of Nenshi winning the race a few months early on Tuesday.
"I'm going to stay focused on our offer to Albertans," Ganley said.
"What we know is that we're selling thousands of memberships and we have people coming forward every day to support the campaign. So, I'm really excited."
Ganley has been banging the economic drum since the first day of her campaign.
She wants to "stimulate job creation, support local business and foster innovation," while helping everyday Albertans with their finances.
She'll be challenged by Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.
"I represent the working party," McGowan said Tuesday.
"(And) I fundamentally disagree with (Pancholi) that this is a done deal."
McGowan took aim at Nenshi on Tuesday.
"Frankly, I don't think it's good enough from the perspective of most Albertans to say 'I’m a nice guy, I'm a celebrity, support me.'"
The window to buy Alberta NDP memberships closes on April 22.
Rachel Notley's successor will be chosen two months later, on June 22.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.