Alberta’s NDP leadership candidate Naheed Nenshi is crafting his campaign around the idea of unity, but instead of uniting Albertans together, he’s hoping to unite Edmonton and Ottawa.  

Nenshi posted his fantasy on Sunday to his socials:

 “The sense of optimism I’ve felt in the last six weeks is palpable. We’ve been conditioned to be against – against Ottawa, against frontline workers, against our neighbours. It’s time for us to be FOR something. For Alberta. For all of us,” it read. 

The platitude echoes his ‘purple’ branding strategy that he trotted out during his campaign in 2010 to become Calgary’s mayor, when he said he was a combination of NDP orange and Conservative blue.

But his current uniter strategy is much bolder, as polls show that Alberta remains staunchly opposed to the federal Liberals, and appreciate the United Conservative Party’s hardline stance against them.

Notably, the United Conservative Party has won multiple supreme court decisions after taking Ottawa to court for what judges ruled were unconstitutional attempts to regulate Alberta.

Moreover, the federal Liberals have imposed a carbon tax that the majority of Albertans strongly oppose.

Nenshi is one of five remaining candidates for the leadership position, along with Jodi Stonehouse, Sarah Hoffman, Kathleen Ganley and Gil McGowan.

Current NDP leader Rachel Notley announced in January that she was stepping down after a new party leader was chosen.

11 years as Calgary mayor

In 2010, Nenshi became the first Muslim mayor of a large North American city. He won three Calgary elections before announcing he would not to seek re-election in 2021, when it was widely expected he would lose if he ran again.

The former mayor recently declared his opposition to Premier Smith’s intention to protect children from premature hormone therapy and puberty blockers.

Nenshi criticized Premier Smith’s policy announcements as “punching down on vulnerable children.”