Alta. NDP leadership candidate quits bid to back Naheed Nenshi

EDMONTON — A contender in the race for the leadership of Alberta’s Opposition NDP has dropped out to support fellow candidate Naheed Nenshi, citing the former Calgary mayor’s ability to expand the party.

“My goal was always to grow our party,” Edmonton legislature member Rakhi Pancholi said Tuesday after announcing on social media she was leaving the race to replace current NDP Leader Rachel Notley.

“We had some information that came out on Friday about the updated membership numbers, and it was very clear that Naheed Nenshi has done quite a remarkable job at increasing the number of memberships. That is the same goal that I had.”

Pancholi said in one week, Nenshi had doubled the size of the Alberta NDP’s membership and brought in tens of thousands of new supporters.

It was enough to convince Pancholi, but not enough to convince two of her former rivals.

“My campaign has sold thousands of memberships,” said Calgary legislature member Kathleen Ganley. “Our party is growing.”

Fellow candidate Sarah Hoffman said she has done the same. She pointed out that she has won numerous elections under the New Democrat banner and Nenshi hasn’t won any.

“We win when people know who we are,” she said.

Ganley pointed out that New Democrats already won both the seat count and the popular vote in Calgary in the previous election.

“We won as a team that worked hard and stuck to our values,” she said.

Nenshi, in a statement on social media, welcomed his new supporter.

“Rakhi, you presented values all Albertans share: optimism, hope, and opportunity,” Nenshi said. “A lot of people that had never thought about voting orange began buying memberships and paying attention.

“Thank you for the endorsement.”

Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams said Pancholi bowing out and backing Nenshi changes the nature of the race.

“The two most dynamic candidates, the ones with the greatest capacity to reach out to new members, to connect with people, those two candidates are now aligned,” she said.

The campaign could now be seen as a contest between those who seek to remain true to their deep roots in the party and those who want change in order to expand the party’s appeal, Williams said. Hoffman, said Williams, seems to be appealing to principle rather than pragmatism.

Williams also pointed out that Nenshi’s popularity had declined during his three terms as Calgary mayor and that he comes with baggage of his own.

“He burned a lot of political capital in Calgary,” she said.

Other candidates are Edmonton legislature member Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse and Gil McGowan, head of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

The vote for a new leader is to take place June 22.