The Alberta New Democrat Party has a new home ahead of the 2023 provincial election — the anticipated Calgary battlefield.
On Sunday, opposition leader Rachel Notley confirmed that her party will move its campaign headquarters downtown. It’s a strategic move, says one expert, and echoes a narrative that political observers have been speculating about for months.
Political scientist Duane Bratt of Mount Royal University says Notley and the NDP must win big in Calgary to overcome the United Conservative Party’s proposed rural stronghold.
“Even if they sweep Northeast Calgary and a few others near downtown, that puts them at 11, 10, 12,” he said in an interview Sunday.
“That’s not good enough… except for the really deep south and maybe Calgary-West, they have to win everything else.”
In its winning year of 2015, the NDP won a record 15 seats in Calgary. That number shrank to just three seats in the 2019 election.
Bratt said without the Wildrose party to split the votes this time, the stakes are even higher.
“Community Specific Campaign”
The campaign office shift allows candidates to get to know voters and address issues that affect them, Notley said.
“We’re going to see a very focused, community-specific campaign,” Notley said.
“Our path to victory … is to focus on the kinds of issues that will improve the lives of Albertans here in Calgary and across the province.”
Notley cited issues such as provincial policing in communities around Edmonton, and health care, education and affordability in Calgary as concerns for Albertans.
Speaking to reporters at a party convention on Sunday, Notely acknowledged the importance of securing seats in Calgary.
“We do a lot of work here, across town,” she said.
“There’s no question, Calgary has a lot of places and you can bet I’ll be spending at least a third of my time here.”
Despite moving away from an Edmonton-based campaign hub, Notley said she will not neglect the city where her party is expected to win seats.
“I’m proud that Edmonton residents have had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with what it’s like to have an NDP-MLA and that we have a high level of trust there,” Notley said.
“I also know that this is never a matter of course. We earned that trust initially and we have to work very hard to keep that trust.”
