Candidates seeking NDP leadership square-off in Calgary debate

NDP leadership candidates spar in Calgary debate NDP leadership candidates debate presumptive favourite Naheed Nenshi's labour loyalty in Calgary.

The five candidates seeking the top position in the NDP met at the BMO Centre for the party’s second official debate.

Former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi received the largest ovation from the crowd.

“My record is what brought me here, my record is what brought many hundreds of people who are in this audience here, and I’m happy to stand on it,” said Nenshi.

Nenshi was questioned by fellow candidate Gil McGowan on stage about a five-year-old letter that he says signals he is anti-union.

“Asking a UCP minster, and I emphasize UCP minster, for special exemption to allow the City of Calgary to quash a dually-negotiated collective agreement, that raises all sorts of red flags for me,” said McGowan.

“I would have been derelict my duty as the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour if I hadn’t raised concerns about that letter,” said McGowan.

Nenshi says since it was leaked, he has talked with labour union leaders over the letter. He recalled how it went down.

“There was a motion to privatize golf courses and private waste collection, which I strenuously objected to and managed to win on the series of the next months, there were a bunch of tactics that needed to get us there,” said Nenshi.

“One of those tactics was, we needed the province to say no so the councillors stoped asking,” said Nenshi. “That strategy turned back the privatization of the golf courses, turned the waste collection diversion pilot into something that got zero job loses.”

The former mayor was questioned on other parts of his past but that was about as combative as the debate got.

Much of it centred around healthcare, education and climate change. The former Health Minister and current Edmonton-Glenora MLA believes it comes down to sharing the same values as voters.

“It needs to be about healthcare, housing and climate. And it needs to be about bold, courageous leadership that we can trust,” said candidate Sarah Hoffman.

Candidate Kathleen Ganley, says it comes down to how the party can win the next election.

“I think we need to propose incredible concrete ideas going forward. I think that sort of talking in wishy-washy terms isn’t going to help us. I think we need to step into the space and challenge the UCP,” she added.

“I will say, I voted for Naheed three times as mayor, I have nothing but respect for him. I would like to see that vision replicated in the provincial arena,” she said.

For candidate Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, she as leader would see a major focus on water, helping address the drought the province is facing.

“How do we ensure that we have water for future generations? Every economic system relies on water and as you can see, we are going to have the worst drought we have ever had in history,” said Calahoo.

On Sunday the NDP is expected to release its latest membership numbers.