Alberta NDP holds rally in Calgary, UCP talks about crime, mental health supports
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a major rally in downtown Calgary Saturday morning, while her United Conservative rival had no public events planned this weekend after a final pitch to voters a day earlier.
Election day is Monday.
Notley told hundreds of cheering supporters, who lined up around the block to get into the event, that her party offers the best way to build a better future for Albertans.
"The Alberta NDP shares your love for this great province — the towering ambition of our cities, the wild ruggedness of our landscapes and the warmth of our people," she said Saturday.
"Albertans are compassionate and hardworking and honest and you deserve a government that lives up to those values."
Notley said many residents don't trust the UCP or its leader Danielle Smith to do so.
"She wants to go after my record. I'm proud of my record," she said to more cheers. "My record, our record is more jobs, better health care and cutting child poverty in half."
Smith said Friday she would aim to lower the level of political polarization in Alberta if her party wins what has been a tight and often bitter race.
She made the remarks during her last news conference before election day.
UCP ANNOUNCEMENT
Two Calgary UCP candidates, Nicholas Milliken and Mike Ellis, held a news conference later Saturday morning in front of a southwest Calgary playground to announce affordable mental health supports for children, youth and all Albertans.
If re-elected the UCP is promising $60 million over the next three years to build four new youth mental wellness centres to provide inpatient mental health and addiction treatment for youth under the age of 18.
It also plans to triple the number of mental health classrooms from the 20 currently under development to 60 across Alberta.
The specialized classroom teams help students with complex needs and include a nurse, social worker, educational psychologist, speech and language therapist, and occupational therapist.
"By identifying and addressing these concerns early individuals are more likely to develop healthy coping mechanisms, manage their symptoms effectively and lead fulfilling lives," said Ellis, who was the minister of public safety and emergency services when the writ was dropped.
"Early intervention can also reduce the risk of developing additional mental health and substance use disorders down the road that may lead to a life of crime or social disorder."
There was also a statement from Lethbridge UCP candidate Nathan Neudorf that his government would work to reduce crime and disorder, while supporting mental health and addiction.
Saturday was also the final day of advance polls, which close around 8 p.m.
More than 655,000 people had already voted this week as of noon local time Saturday. That's comparable to the 696,000 who voted early in the 2019 general election.
Polls will be open Monday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.