Amanda Freistadt, Chief Returning Officer, Alberta NDP. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

members are energized, veteran mlas say

Alberta NDP finalize rules for leadership race which will run Feb. 5 until June 22

Jan 27, 2024 | 5:52 PM

Candidates can begin the paperwork to declare they want to be the next leader of the Alberta NDP on Jan. 29, kicking off a race Feb. 5 that will culminate on June 22.

The location for the party’s leadership race finale is yet to be determined.

These and other details of the race to come were revealed during a press conference Saturday at Red Deer Polytechnic, where the Alberta NDP were holding their provincial council meetings.

According to the party’s chief returning officer, Amanda Freistadt, the race will officially begin Feb. 5, with June 22 at noon being the deadline to vote.

In order to vote, a member must be in good standing by purchasing or renewing their membership by April 22. There will be mail-in ballots, as well as online and telephone voting, as per the Alberta NDP’s constitution.

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“There are a lot of differences between the Alberta NDP and Alberta UCP. The Alberta NDP is a party rooted in the values of social justice, equity and fairness, and when people sign on to become a member of the Alberta NDP, they sign on upholding those values and they make a commitment to supporting them,” said Freistadt.

“Our leadership contest will publicly disclose donors because dark money from extreme right wing groups has no place in our movement. Our leadership race will have a spending limit of $500,000 per contestant, and an entry fee of $60,000.”

Memberships must be paid for by the individual purchasing it, and that person must know what they are signing up for. Membership is open to any resident of Alberta aged 14 or older.

Perhaps most crucial for the party is that leadership candidates must have been a member in good standing since Aug. 5, 2023 or earlier.

“Our candidates will be united in building on Rachel Notley’s legacy and moving our party forward because we are rooted in our values and principles, and we listen to Albertans, not extremist backers,” Freistadt added, mentioning raising the minimum wage as one highlight of former Premier Notley’s legacy.

One potential candidate is Rakhi Pancholi, who says running is something she’s been talking about with constituents, friends and family for a while now.

“We really are a party about growth. There’s a lot of excitement today about including more Albertans in what we’re doing — getting them engaged and energized about the leadership race — and this shows that we’re clearly a party on the path to be government in 2027,” said Pancholi, who was first elected in 2019 for Edmonton-Whitemud.

“You just have to look at our candidates and the large group of MLAs elected for the first time [to see our growth]. We have grown into a party that reflects the values of most Albertans; we have people with business expertise, who are well-versed in oil and gas, lawyers, doctors and social workers. They care about a strong economy, being prepared for an energy transition but also wanting to focus on our resources that are here right now. We care about strong public education and strong public health care. We just need to continue to build on our momentum into 2027.”

Another potential candidate is the party’s deputy leader, also former Health Minister (2015-2019) and current Edmonton-Glenora MLA Sarah Hoffman, who quipped that she’ll have more to say in the coming days about a potential leadership bid.

“It’s a very exciting provincial council [meeting]. We’ve had people here since 8 a.m. engaging in different ways on making sure we have an exciting competition that creates lots of support for Albertans who’ve thought of joining the NDP. This is their chance,” Hoffman said, noting the energy and buzz in the room, and touching on Notley’s aforementioned legacy.

“Tiny feet, big shoes [to fill] — Rachel’s been a constant in our party for decades and the leader for nine years. She’s been an amazing presence. In the lead-up to the last election, it was the most volunteers we’ve ever seen engaged. There were tremendous campaigns on the ground and I think people want to build on that because they know a lot of progress has been made under Rachel’s leadership. She’s done a tremendous job and there’ll be a lot of work to do to make sure we maintain the trust she garnered from so many, but that we also gain more relationships and help more people see themselves in our movement.”

Party officials noted that leadership debates will be announced at a later date

More details will be posted to the party’s website in the coming days. For more information, visit albertandp.ca/join.