'No real winner' following first Alberta NDP leadership debate: political scientist

The five Alberta NDP leadership hopefuls at a debate in Lethbridge on April 25, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -

An Alberta political scientist said the NDP leadership hopefuls remained fairly even following the first of the party’s debates.

The five candidates vying to be the next leader of Alberta’s NDP took the stage in Lethbridge on Thursday night to plead their case to party members.

Kathleen Ganley, Sarah Hoffman, Gil McGowan, Naheed Nenshi and Jody Calahoo Stonehouse are all vying for the opposition’s top job.

“No real winner, but I think some raised their profile a bit. I think Stonehouse for people who didn't know her actually did very well. And as Gil McGowan actually joked about, he surprised people,” Trevor Harrison, a political scientist with the University of Lethbridge, said.

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While the debate was reasonably tame, there were still some punches thrown.

Nenshi, the presumed front-runner and former mayor of Calgary, took more criticism than the other candidates.

Hoffman in particular seemed to make a point of going after Nenshi.

“There was a little bit of feistiness, most particularly between Sarah Hoffman and Naheed Nenshi. Questions that are really kind of central to his appeal. Is he really an NDPer or is he an interloper?” Harrison said.

Despite the extra pressure, Harrison believes Nenshi was able to stay calm under pressure.

“For the most part, I think he handled himself well. He was not only conciliatory but his whole appeal was really reaching out and expanding the NDP tent,” he said.

One of the biggest talking points during the debate was figuring out how the party could make up ground in rural ridings.

Outside of Edmonton or Calgary, the party has struggled to consistently win seats.

Despite an emphasis being put on attracting rural voters, there isn’t a consensus on who the best leader would be to do that.

“In terms of, did anybody stand out as someone who could perhaps bring rural voters into the tent, it’s hard to say,” said Harrison.

Two more debates will be held with one in Calgary on May 11 and one in Edmonton on June 2.

Harrison expects candidates will likely spend much of the next debates talking about the controversial Bill 20 that was just introduced in the legislature.

If passed, the bill would allow the province to remove city councillors, repeal municipal bylaws and allow for the creation of political parties at the local level for Calgary and Edmonton.

The candidates’ stance and response to the bill could prove key to securing needed votes.

“Because nobody talked about it last night, but going into Calgary then going into Edmonton I suspect we will see a lot of discussion around the changes to municipal governance,” said Harrison.

The last day for party members to vote for the next Alberta NDP leader is June 22.