Alberta NDP leadership candidates accuse Naheed Nenshi of anti-union statements

A letter written five years ago by Naheed Nenshi, the presumed front-runner in the race to lead the Alberta NDP, is being held up by some of his opponents as evidence the former Calgary mayor is anti-union.

The letter was written on Dec. 20, 2019, and addressed to Jason Copping, the province's labour and immigration minister at the time. 

In it, then-mayor Nenshi cites the hollowing-out of Calgary's downtown core driven by a severe downturn in the oil sector, and the resultant loss of property-tax revenue. He asks the province to consider changing city union contracts and freezing wages, to help the city's efforts to "do more with less."

"Many of the city's employees covered by collective agreements will see a 1.5 per cent wage increase in 2020. This represents an approximately $31 million increase to the base operational budget," the letter says.

"Against this backdrop, I am asking your government to consider and review what actions, if any, could allow for the altering of existing and pending collective agreements that would enable council to consider a 2020 wage freeze."

The letter goes on to acknowledge the request would be "an extraordinary measure," but says it can be "demonstrably justified given the current economic crisis facing the city and the potential impacts on homeowners and small businesses."

Nenshi's rivals for the NDP leadership were quick to take to social media to condemn the candidate's apparent willingness to tear up collective agreements with city workers.

Leadership candidate and Calgary MLA Kathleen Ganley posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she believes everyone "should respect the deals they've made and the rights of others. It's about basic fairness."

"I am deeply disturbed by the letter from former Mayor Nenshi that attempts to squirm out of a deal that he made with city workers," Ganley wrote.

Gil McGowan, a candidate for the NDP leadership and the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, wrote on X, "No New Democrat I know would have ever signed a letter like that. This is serious."

"At the least, this raises red flags about Naheed's judgment. At worst, it suggests that when push comes to shove, he can't be counted on to take the side of workers," McGowan wrote.

"That's a pretty serious concern to be raised about someone who is running to lead what is, or at least was, the workers' party."

In a statement issued on Thursday, Nenshi described the letter as political gamesmanship. 

"Some members of city council were advocating to unilaterally tear up city contracts and roll back wages — something I could never support. In the end, I got them back to doing some more analysis and asking the province if they would ever even consider these changes. I knew full well that the province wouldn't," reads Nenshi's post to X.