Rachel Notley to Step Down after 10 Years of NDP Leadership
On October 18, 2014, Edmonton-Strathcona MLA Rachel Notley emerged victorious as the successor to Brian Mason as the leader of the Alberta NDP. She earned 70 per cent of the vote share of the 3,589 ballots cast by members of the day.
On January 16, 2024, she ended months of speculation by publicly sharing her decision to not lead the Alberta NDP into the next provincial election. She indicated that she will remain as party leader until such time as the NDP members elect her successor.
And no, she has no intention of entering federal politics at this time. However, she did not rule out the possibility of running in the next election as an MLA once again.
Under Notley, the Alberta NDP went from a modest four seats in the Alberta Legislature to forming government in less than a year, serving as premier from 2015 to 2019. When you stroll through the portraits of past premiers, you will find that Notley’s is the only one to feature her standing on the steps of the century-old building – a decision she says is a testament to her advocacy roots.
She offered thoughts on what she is most proud of with respect to her leadership, saying that Alberta is no longer a one-party province.
“We didn’t win the election and that’s the big reason why I’m not staying on. But we did achieve a lot in terms of making it very clear that Albertans have a choice going forward. They don’t have to assume that there is only the option of a Conservative government in this province.”
Premier Danielle Smith released a statement on her counterpart’s decision, saying “serving as Premier is an extremely demanding job, and she served in that office with an honour and dignity reminiscent of her late father, another honourable and loyal Albertan and public servant.”
NDP Leadership Rules Set by Provincial Council
Last weekend, delegates of the Alberta NDP provincial council converged in Red Deer to debate the rules leadership candidates will be bound to. The event was originally set to happen next weekend in Edmonton, but the news of Rachel Notley’s decision forced the party to move the event on an emergency basis.
Applications for contestants became available on January 29th with the race officially kicking off on February 5th. Contestants must be a party member since August 5, 2023 (though a special application can be made for those wishing to apply who do not meet the membership requirement). The deadline to apply as a contestant is March 15th.
Contestants will be asked to pay a $60,000 entry fee (in installments) and be capped to a $500,000 spending limit.
For Albertans wishing to become members for the purposes of voting in the leadership race will have until April 22nd to apply. The party will use mail-in, online, and telephone voting.
On the subject of votes, provincial council voted to implement a preferential ballot using one member, one vote principles. This is similar to what both the UCP and federal Conservative party employed during their most recent races. Finally, 0% of the vote will be delegated to affiliated members – something many observers were wondering if the party would approve as their constitution allows for up to 25% to be awarded to affiliated members.
On the subject of donations, Chief Returning Officer Amanda Freistadt indicated that “our leadership contest will publicly disclose donors because dark money from extreme right wing groups has no place in our movement.”
The next leader of the Alberta NDP will be elected on June 22nd. The party will host a “leadership showcase” in Calgary to introduce the next leader to the province. Many council delegates expressed a desire to give the next leader the summer to prepare for the fall session and to take advantage of the summer events period (such as Calgary Stampede) to help build their profile and introduce them to Albertans.