MP Heather McPherson announces NDP leadership bid in Edmonton

Edmonton MP Heather McPherson kicked off her campaign for federal NDP leader Sunday near Campus Saint-Jean in south central Edmonton.

Heather McPherson announced that she will be running for the federal NDP’s top spot Sunday afternoon in her Edmonton-Strathcona riding.

During her speech at La Cite francophone near Campus Saint-Jean in south-central Edmonton, she pledged to make the NDP “a viable choice again.”

“Others across the political spectrum, they thrive on division … they turn politics into an us versus them, a rural versus urban, workers versus the environment,” said McPherson. “That’s not my vision for the New Democratic Party. We don’t grow by pushing people out, we grow by bringing people together.”

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McPherson has been an MP since 2019 in the strongest NDP seat in the country.

She said she hopes to change the way the NDP shares its message.

“We’ve done good work together, but the last election reminded us that we have more work to do,” she told supporters. “We need to change not what we believe, but how we talk about it and who we talk to.”

The move comes after former leader Jagmeet Singh resigned in April after losing his own seat and the party was reduced to seven seats, losing official party status.

During her speech, McPherson called out Prime Minister Mark Carney for being a conservative leader in a Liberal costume.

She warned that the next election could be held as early as this spring.

“The NDP needs a leader that is ready now, ready to hold the government accountable in the House of Commons, ready to organize and campaign across this country,” she said.

Filmmaker and journalist Avi Lewis announced his candidacy earlier this month.

The NDP will select its next leader at a convention in Winnipeg in March.

With files from The Canadian Press