Tag: Kathleen Ganley

Nancy Karvellas and Ray Donnelly running for UCP nomination in Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 28, 2026

Two contests to choose UCP candidates for the next provincial have begun to heat up:

Nancy Karvellas is running running against Ray Donnelly for UCP nomination in Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland.
- The riding is currently represented by UCP MLA Shane Getson and he is not expected to run again in the next election.
Stacy Miskew joins Dale Aalbers are in the race for the UCP nomination in Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright.

Calgary-Shaw by-election watch: Well-known conservative organizer Craig Chandler launched a website to pressure City Councillor Dan McLean not to run for the UCP nomination in Calgary-Shaw. Chandler is believed to be supporting nomination candidate Mike Derry in the race to replace UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz, who is expected to resign from the Legislature in May 2026.

McLean said he has not decided if he’s going to enter the nomination race.

Farmers and First Nations unite against northeast Alberta carbon dioxide pipeline

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date March 26, 2026

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation spoke at the NO CO2 Pipelines Alberta Coalition’s news conference in Edmonton on March 24, 2026 (photo credit: David Climenhaga / AlbertaPolitics.ca)

A coalition of farmers and Indigenous leaders from northeast Alberta have formed a coalition called No CO2 Pipelines to oppose the construction of a pipeline that could run from Fort McMurray and other areas to carbon capture storage areas near Cold Lake.

The coalition is concerned about the safety of the proposed 600-kilometre carbon capture pipeline and 18,000 km² underground carbon storage project that will cross near dozens of rural and Indigenous communities. The planned project would be the world’s largest carbon capture and storage network.

Rakhi Pancholi takes the lead – NDP deputy leader takes centre stage, again, in response to Danielle Smith’s nine referendum questions

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 24, 2026

Edmonton-Whitemud NDP MLA Rakhi Pancholi (source: Alberta NDP Opposition / YouTube)

“Cut the bullshit. Call the election.”

Those were the words Alberta NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi directed at Danielle Smith the morning after the Premier took to the television waves to blame immigration for the provincial government’s budget problems and announce a suite of nine referendum questions to be put to Albertans on October 19.

The 38-MLA NDP opposition has struggled to gain traction and define itself since former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi replaced former premier Rachel Notley as leader a year and a half ago, but those six words from Pancholi last Friday cut through the noise and were a blunt reminder that she is one of the party’s most effective voices.

Nenshi’s NDP starts nominating candidates for next Alberta election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 10, 2026

Edmonton-Glenora MLA Sarah Hoffman and NDP leader Naheed Nenshi (source: Sarah Hoffman / Instagram)

Early March candidate meetings scheduled in Calgary and Edmonton ridings

With rumours of an early provincial election circulating since last year, the Alberta NDP looks like it will be the first political party out of the gate to nominate candidates ahead of the next vote.

The NDP website lists candidate nomination meetings scheduled in Edmonton-Glenora on March 3, Calgary-Elbow on March 4, Calgary-Klein on March 5, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview on March 6 and Calgary-Edgemont on March 7.

All five of these ridings are represented by NDP MLAs who will be seeking re-election if they secure their party’s nominations.

Longtime Daveberta readers will know that I am keenly interested in tracking candidate nominations ahead of provincial and federal elections in Alberta, so I am pleased to share with you that I am continuing this tradition as we approach the next election.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Tags Alberta Election 2026, Alberta Election 2027, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta NDP, Alberta Political Party Fundraising, Alberta Politics Substack, Alison Redford, Amarjeet Sohi, Calgary-Edgemont, Calgary-Elbow, Calgary-Klein, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-Shaw, Canada Election Substack, Chantelle de Jonge, Cole Sunderman, Corporate Donations, Dale Aalbers, Dale Nally, Dan Williams, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, David Eggen, Deron Bilous, Devin Dreeshen, Doug Schweitzer, Ed Ewasiuk, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, Edmonton-Glenora, Edmonton-Glenora-Riverview, Edmonton-Riverview, Grant Notley, Greg Clark, Jason Kenney, Jason Nixon, Jennifer Johnson, Jeremy Nixon, Jordan Walker, Joseph Schow, Julia Hayter, Justin Wright, Kathleen Ganley, Kyle Kasawski, Lizette Tejada, Luke Suvanto, Mark Carney, Mark Miller, Mike Burton, Money in Politics, Naheed Nenshi, Nate Glubish, Nolan Dyck, Peggy Wright, Peter Guthrie, Prasad Panda, Progressive Tory Party of Alberta, Rachel Notley, Ralph Klein, Ray Martin, Raymond Donnelly, Rebecca Schulz, Richard Sigurdson, Rosemarie Falk, Samir Kayande, Sarah Hoffman, Searle Turton, Shannon Stubbs, Sherwood Park, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Is Naheed Nenshi ready to be the next Premier of Alberta?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date November 18, 2025

Flashy new NDP ad gives a glimpse into what the NDP wants to fight for in the next election

Naheed Nenshi is ready. That’s the main message of a new campaign ad released by the Alberta New Democrats last week. The video reintroduces Nenshi to Albertans and tries to lay out some clear contrasts between his party and Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party.

The new ad is reportedly the result of the Alberta NDP’s new relationship with the US-based Fight Agency, the political consultants behind Zohran Mamdani’s wildly successful campaign to become the next Mayor of New York City. And it’s an impressive ad.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Tags Airdrie-Cochrane, Alberta Election 2027, Alberta Municipalities, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Alberta Politics Substack, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Alex Hryciw, Amarjeet Sohi, Andrew Knack, Andrew MacKendrick, Better Edmonton Party, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-Peigan, Canada Election Substack, Dan Nielsen, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Devery Corbin, Dylan Bressey, Edmonton-Ellerslie by-election, Edmonton-Strathcona, Fight Agency, Heather Wilson, Kathleen Ganley, Kyall Glennie, Kyle Kasawski, Lesser Slave Lake, Lethbridge-West by-election, Mark Miller, Mike Burton, Mike Elliott, Mike Vivian, Naheed Nenshi, Omar Mohammad, Peter Guthrie, Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, Rachel Notley, Reed Clark, Richard Corbin, Scott Sinclair, Sherwood Park, Tanya Fir, Tim Cartmell, UCP AGM 2025, United Conservative Party, Winston Pon, Zohran Mamdani

Alberta Politics

Alberta is Recalling. UCP MLA Angela Pitt facing recall campaign in Airdrie-East

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date November 9, 2025

Airdire-East MLA Angela Pitt (source: Angela Pitt / Facebook)

Also: Look who’s running in the UCP AGM board elections

An MLA Recall law championed by United Conservative Party MLAs four years ago is coming back to haunt some of those politicians today.

A second recall campaign launched this month aims to recall UCP MLA Angela Pitt in her suburban Airdrie-East riding north of Calgary. Pitt is the second MLA to face a recall effort in recent weeks with a similar campaign being launched by constituents of Calgary-Bow UCP MLA and Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides in October.

Daveberta turns 20 years old

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date July 21, 2025

CBC The National reporter Ian Hanomansing interviews Dave Cournoyer on the day before Alberta’s 2023 provincial election (source: CBC)

I’ve been writing about Alberta politics since 2005 and it’s been a wild ride

It was 2005.

After a short stint on the dysfunctional Calgary Board of Education, former Fraser Institute intern Danielle Smith was in her fifth year as a columnist and editorial board member at the Calgary Herald. Smith joined the Herald a few years earlier while the journalists who worked for the paper were on strike.

Harvard-educated Naheed Nenshi was teaching non-profit management at Mount Royal College in Calgary. Nenshi was recovering from an unsuccessful first campaign for city council the year earlier and was about to build his profile as a civic affairs columnist in the same newspaper that employed Smith.

And somewhere on the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton, a young political science student named Dave plucked away at his laptop keyboard writing posts to publish on his new blog, Daveberta.

A lot has happened in the 20 years since. Time flies when you’re having fun.

I never expected or planned to still be writing about Alberta politics today but it turns out that it was something I enjoyed doing and people enjoyed reading, so I kept it up. And I’m glad I did.

Janis Irwin voted Best Alberta MLA for fifth year in a row

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date December 3, 2024

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood MLA Janis Irwin (source: Janis Irwin / Facebook)

Justice Minister Mickey Amery voted Best Cabinet Minister of 2024

With all the votes counted, the winners of the Best of Alberta Politics 2024 Survey have been chosen. The eighth annual survey is all about celebrating the best in Alberta politics. The winners were selected from a week-long vote for the top two choices in each category nominated by Daveberta subscribers.

Read all about the winners on the Daveberta Substack.

Alberta Politics

Vote for the Best of Alberta Politics in 2024!

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date November 26, 2024

The 2024 Best of Alberta Politics finalists. Janis Irwin, Searle Turton, Rakhi Pancholi, Mickey Amery, Todd Loewen, Kathleen Ganley, Jennifer Johnson, Kyle Kasawski (left to right)

Vote for this year’s best MLA, cabinet minister, MLA to watch, municipal leader and more

With hundreds of names submitted to the 2024 Best of Alberta Politics Survey, your nominations have been sorted and the top two choices have been identified in all seven categories.

Voting in the eighth annual survey is now open to the nearly 4,600 Daveberta subscribers (free and paid) until Sunday, December 1 at 8:00 p.m. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, December 3.

Vote in the 2024 Best of Alberta Politics Survey

Tags 2024 Alberta NDP Leadership Race, Alberta NDP, Alberta Politics Substack, Best of Alberta Politics, Best of Alberta Politics 2024, Daveberta Substack, Janis Irwin, Jennifer Johnson, Kathleen Ganley, Kyle Kasawski, Mickey Amery, Naheed Nenshi, Rakhi Pancholi, Richard Ireland, Searle Turton, Terry Jessiman, The Strategists Podcast, Todd Loewen, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Can Danielle Smith survive the UCP political circus in Red Deer?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date October 31, 2024

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (photo: Danielle Smith/Facebook)

Alberta politics is unpredictable and sometimes it’s best to expect the unexpected

The main event of Alberta’s political season is nearly upon us. No, I’m not talking about the return of the Legislature or the impending by-election in Lethbridge-West. I’m talking about the United Conservative Party’s Annual General Meeting and leadership review that is happening this weekend in Red Deer.

With more than 6,000 people expected to attend, it will likely be the biggest single political convention in Alberta’s history. And it is going to be a circus.

Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack.

Tags 1905 Committee, Adriana LaGrange, Airdrie-Cochrane, Alberta Federal Candidate Nomination Update, Alberta First Pension Plan, Alberta NDP, Alberta Prosperity Project, Black Hat Gang, Blaine Higgs, Calgary Crowfoot, Calgary-Lougheed, Chemtrails, COVID-19 Pandemic, Cynthia Moore, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, David Parker, Demetrios Nicolaides, Edmonton-Manning, Elections Alberta, Eric Bouchard, Glen Resler, Gordon McClure, Ian Brodie, Jason Kenney, Jason Nixon, Jim Prentice, Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, John Middleton-Hope, Joseph Schow, Kathleen Ganley, Lesley Thompson, Lethbridge-West, Lethbridge-West by-election, Mathew Jammaz, Matt Jones, Naheed Nenshi, National Firearms Association, Ralph Klein, Rob Miyashiro, Sarah Hoffman, Scott Moe, Shahnaz Munir, Stephen Harper, Take Back Alberta, Tiffany Nixon, Transgender policy, Transgender Rights in Alberta, Umair Ahad, United Conservative Party, United Conservative Party AGM, United Conservative Party Leadership Review, Wildrose Party

Alberta Politics

Nenshi wins Alberta NDP leadership vote in a landslide victory

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 22, 2024

Rachel Notley and Naheed Nenshi at the announcement of the NDP leadership vote results (source: Alberta NDP / YouTube)

Former Calgary mayor wins with a record 62,746 votes on the first ballot

Naheed Nenshi is the new leader of the Alberta NDP. The former Calgary mayor won with a huge landslide victory on the first ballot.

Here are the results of the NDP leadership vote:

Naheed Nenshi: 62,746 (86%)
Kathleen Ganley: 5,899 (8%)
Sarah Hoffman: 3,063 (4%)
Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse: 1,222 (2%)

Nenshi’s three-terms as mayor of Alberta’s largest city have made him one of the province’s most recognizable politicians. That name recognition and his history of electoral success in Calgary almost certainly helped carry him to his landslide first place finish in the race to replace Rachel Notley.

NDP to announce new leader and Conservatives vote in Calgary Signal Hill

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 20, 2024

The view from the inside of the Wonderland Sculpture outside The Bow tower in downtown Calgary (source: Dave Cournoyer)

Calgary is in the headlines a lot these days, but today’s Daveberta newsletter doesn’t have anything to do with the busted water main that is threatening the city’s water supply (but I do hope to write more about that later).

Today’s newsletter focuses on two big political events happening in Alberta’s largest city this weekend: the announcement of the NDP leadership vote and the federal Conservative nomination vote in Calgary Signal Hill.

NDP MLA Shannon Phillips stepping down, opening Lethbridge-West by-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 11, 2024

Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips (source: Shannon Phillips / Facebook)

I usually share Daveberta newsletters later in the week, but with MLA Shannon Phillips announcing her resignation yesterday, I wanted to share my thoughts earlier this week. Enjoy!

Shannon Phillips is smart as a whip and tough as nails but after nine years in the Alberta Legislature, she is stepping down as the NDP MLA for Lethbridge-West.

Read the rest of the column on the Daveberta Substack

Tags 2024 Alberta NDP Leadership Race, Alberta NDP, Bridget Pastoor, Carrie Tait, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Kathleen Ganley, Ken Nicol, Lethbridge-East, Lethbridge-West, Lethbridge-West by-election, Naheed Nenshi, Nathan Neudorf, Rachel Notley, Rob Miyashiro, Shannon Phillips

Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith’s big win

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 29, 2024

UCP leader Danielle Smith on election night in Calgary (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

Losing Calgary was the plan Smith shared with Rick Bell months before the 2023 election

Danielle Smith has never been interested in building a big tent political party.

It was October 2022 when Smith landed in hot water with United Conservative Party MLAs from Calgary when she told Postmedia columnist Rick Bell that she would be okay with her party losing half its seats in that city.

Fast forward seven months and that’s what happened when Smith’s UCP were re-elected on May 29, 2023.

Read the rest of the column on the Daveberta Substack

Alberta Politics

Say hello to the Calgary NDP

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 23, 2024

Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley and former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi during the final week of the 2023 election (source: Rachel Notley / Twitter)

Alberta NDP membership sales surged in Calgary, leaving Edmonton in the dust

The Alberta NDP announced last week that the party’s membership list has surged to 85,144 members in the race to replace party leader Rachel Notley. And the largest group of Alberta NDP members are now in Calgary.

How the times have changed.