Alberta NDP Leader Nenshi wins seat in one of three byelections
Albertans are voting in three provincial byelections on Monday, including two in Edmonton.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has held Edmonton-Strathcona for the New Democrats in one of three provincial byelections.
Unofficial results from Elections Alberta put him well ahead of the nearest competitor, United Conservative Party candidate Darby Crouch.
Nenshi is running in one of three provincial byelections Monday as a candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona, where his predecessor, former premier Rachel Notley, last won 80 per cent of the vote.
With 48 of 52 polls reporting at 10 p.m. Monday night, Nenshi had captured 6,036 votes while Crouch had garnered 1,068.
In Edmonton-Ellerslie, NDP candidate Gurtej Singh Brar led United Conservative Party candidate Naresh Bhardwaj 2,421 votes to 1,754 with 50 of 55 polls reporting.
In Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills with 46 of 60 polls reporting, the UCP's Tara Sawyer had claimed 7,320 votes by 10 p.m. while the NDP's Bev Toews had collected 2,445 and separatist Republican Party of Alberta Leader Cameron Davies had scored 2,029. Bill Tufts of the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition, with 146 votes, is also running in the rural central Alberta riding.
The seat became vacant after former legislature speaker and longtime UCP legislature member Nathan Cooper resigned to take a post as Alberta's representative in Washington, D.C.
Also running in Edmonton-Strathcona seat are Republican Ravina Chand, Samuel Petrov of the Alberta Party, Liberal Don Slater and Wildrose Loyalty Coalition candidate Jesse Stretch.
Other candidates in Edmonton-Ellerslie include Caroline Currie of the Alberta Party, Pamela Henson from the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition, Fred Munn of the Republican Party and Liberal Manpreet Tiwana.
The south-Edmonton riding had been represented by Rod Loyola under the NDP banner until he resigned to run in the federal election.
With files from Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Alberta NDP Leader Nenshi wins seat in one of three byelections
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CBC
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Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi heading for legislature after byelection win
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In his byelection victory speech Monday night, Nenshi thanked the voters of Edmonton-Strathcona for being welcoming and making him feel at home. "And I promise I will be your number one advocate," he said. Hinting at the projected result in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection, Nenshi said if voters take anything from Monday's results, it should be Albertans' weak appetite for separation from Canada. Nenshi reiterated the NDP's dedication to publicly-funded and accessible health care, a robust public education system, workers' rights, affordability and community safety. A closer result in Ellerslie Political pundits said they'd be watching the race closely in Edmonton-Ellerslie as an indicator of how robust NDP support remains in Edmonton. If Monday's byelection results are made official, all seats in the City of Edmonton will remain in NDP hands. The NDP's Brar, a Punjabi-language broadcaster and "self-taught tech enthusiast," according to his campaign website, captured 51 per cent of the 8,511 byelection votes cast. He previously won a competitive NDP nomination contest against three other community leaders. UCP candidate and former Progressive Conservative MLA Naresh Bhardwaj, earned about 38 per cent of the votes. The result was a narrower margin of victory for the NDP, who won the riding by 25 percentage points in the 2023 provincial election. Brar's campaign did not respond to messages on Monday night. In a statement after his win, Brar said he would fight for better health care, education, community safety, and a south Edmonton hospital — a project cancelled by the government. "Tonight, we've sent a clear message to Danielle Smith and the UCP: our community is demanding better," his statement said. Manpreet Tiwana, the Alberta Liberal candidate, came in third and captured about five per cent of the vote. That party has not elected an MLA to the legislature since 2015. When the legislature rose in May, there were 46 UCP MLAs, 36 from the NDP, and two independents. The legislature is set to reconvene on the last week of October.
Globe and Mail
4 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Alberta NDP Leader Nenshi wins seat in one of three byelections
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has held Edmonton-Strathcona for the New Democrats in one of three provincial byelections. Unofficial results from Elections Alberta put him well ahead of the nearest competitor, United Conservative Party candidate Darby Crouch. The NDP was also leading in Edmonton-Ellerslie where the party's candidate, Gurtej Singh Brar, was ahead of United Conservative Party candidate Naresh Bhardwaj by over 500 votes, with 46 of 55 polls reporting. The United Conservatives' Tara Sawyer won Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, where the third byelection was being held. Speaking to supporters at an Edmonton hotel, Nenshi said voters sent a clear message that the UCP 'doesn't have a plan for a better future, but Alberta's New Democrats do.' Nenshi has spent a year of sitting on the sidelines after winning the party's leadership race, and Edmonton-Strathcona was the seat held by former party leader and premier Rachel Notley.
