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
BREAKING 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.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada’s financial-crime watchdog has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.