The moment Naheed Nenshi entered the Alberta NDP leadership race this past March, he was quickly named the candidate to beat—and the one who could beat Premier Danielle Smith. It didn’t matter that the next provincial election was three years away. Nenshi is the three-term mayor who comforted Calgarians during the devastating 2013 floods; who galvanized citizens, red and blue, with his overwhelmingly purple wardrobe; and who made international headlines for his social-media savvy. (One memorable meme: “Keep Calm and Nenshi On.”)
He is now one of five candidates vying to replace Rachel Notley when she steps down in June—and the most likely one to nab the party’s top spot and take down the reigning UCP, a regime he’s called immoral and dangerous due to its climate change flip-floppery and controversial transgender youth policies. To many Albertans, Nenshi is the underdog. A Harvard-educated business prof with little rural appeal. A bandwagon-jumper who only became an NDP member in January. To the UCP, he’s a delightfully easy target. This spring, I sat down with Nenshi to discuss his jump from municipal to provincial politics and why he so badly wants to win over the West.
–Katie Underwood, managing editor
