NDP party membership in the Airdrie-Cochrane riding has risen by over 300 per cent in recent months, and that is mainly due to Naheed Nenshi.
With former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi elected as the leader of the Alberta NDP, former Airdrie-Cochrane candidate Shaun Fluker shared his thoughts on what Nenshi's leadership means to local party members.
Nenshi was elected to take over from NDP Leader Rachel Notley on June 22, after garnering 86 per cent of NDP membership votes. He is now their ninth leader, and the first person from Calgary to take that role.
Looking at this from a local level, Fluker said that this is a significant victory for the NDP, adding that Nenshi and the NDP itself has garnered a lot of support across Alberta.
“And that would include here In Cochrane, where it was reported that membership went up 300 or 400 per cent,” Fluker said. “So, seems to me that a lot of people wanted to cast their vote in favour of him.
“So yeah, a resounding victory for him. And I guess it shows that the party members definitely united under his leadership, and what he has to say about the future direction of the party as we move towards 2027.”
In the 2023 election for the Airdrie-Cochrane riding, the Alberta NDP garnered 38 per cent of votes, 13 per cent higher than the results from the previous election in 2019. For a riding outside of the Calgary and Edmonton area, Fluker added that, in terms of raw voting numbers, the NDP placed really well.
“I think that Nenshi represents that continued push in that direction,” he said. “He obviously brings a lot of experience in Alberta politics into the role.
“And for places like Cochrane, and I’ve heard [Nenshi] say this already, being the fastest growing community in Alberta, we would really benefit from his stated interest in really reviewing and increasing infrastructure money that the province gives municipalities in Alberta.”
Fluker added that Nenshi believes province falls short when it comes to infrastructure funding for municipalities.
“Given his long tenure as the Mayor of Calgary, I would expect that he will really advocate strongly for policy development in that area over the next few years,” Fluker said. “And I think that’s a huge plus for Cochrane.”
When looking at Nenshi’s idea to separate the Alberta NDP from their federal counterpart, Fluker said he shares the same thoughts as their newly elected leader.
“It’s unusual for provincial parties to be connected to their federal counterpart,” Fluker said. “[Nenshi] said, and I would agree with him, that it’s time for the Alberta NDP to put that question to its members. His view would be that the Alberta NDP should separate itself from the federal party, and I would agree with him in that regard.”
But as Nenshi himself has previous stated, the final call ultimately rests with Alberta NDP members.
“I do firmly believe that this is a matter that will go to vote withing the Alberta NDP, and my own view would be that the Alberta NDP should split from the federal party,” Fluker said.
Overall, Fluker said he would like to congratulate all the leadership candidates.
“It’s obviously a lot of hard work, and huge sacrifice to put your name forward in that regard,” Fluker said.
With a large uptick in NDP memberships province-wide in recent years, Fluker said this isn’t much of a surprise and due, in large part, to the work by their now former leader.
“As Rachel Notley steps down as leader, her legacy in Alberta was to instill the competitive two-party democracy in Alberta, which quite frankly is a huge positive for all of us, and the province of Alberta in general,” Fluker said. “And I think that this leadership contest, and [Nenshi’s] victory in this regard is really reflective of that reality that Alberta’s in right now, which is just really positive.”
Fluker invites anyone who is looking to learn more about the Alberta NDP or is interested in buying a membership to visit www.airdriecochrane-ndp.ca.
