Battleground Calgary: Alberta NDP move election campaign HQ to city's core
CBC
The Alberta New Democrat Party has a new home ahead of the 2023 provincial election — the expected battleground of Calgary.
On Sunday, Opposition leader Rachel Notley confirmed her party will be moving its campaign headquarters to the city's downtown core. It's a strategic move, one expert says, and reflects a narrative political watchers have speculated on for months.
Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt says Notley and the NDP need to win big in Calgary to overcome the United Conservative Party's projected rural stronghold.
"Even if they sweep northeast Calgary, and a couple of the others that are close to downtown, that puts them at 11, 10, 12," he said in an interview Sunday.
"That's not good enough…with the exception of the real deep south and maybe Calgary-West, they're going to have to win everything else."
In their 2015 election-winning year, the NDP won a record total of 15 seats in Calgary. That number dwindled down to only 3 seats during the 2019 election.
Bratt said without the Wildrose Party around to split votes this time, the stakes are even higher.
The campaign office shift allows candidates to get to know voters and tackle issues pertaining to them specifically, Notley said.
"We're going to see a very focused, community-specific campaign," Notley said.
"Our path to victory … is about focusing on the kinds of issues that are going to make life better for Albertans here in Calgary and all across the province."
Notley cited issues like the provincial police force in the communities surrounding Edmonton and healthcare, education and affordability in Calgary as points of concern for Albertans.
Speaking to reporters at a party conference on Sunday, Notely acknowledged the importance of securing seats in Calgary.
"We're doing a lot of work here, right across the city," she said.
"No question, there's lots of seats in Calgary and you can bet I will be spending at least a third of my time here."
As winter weather ramps up in the Sea-to-Sky region, search and rescue teams are preparing for an influx of calls for help.
About 60 Halifax workers for global video game giant Ubisoft have formed the company's first union in North America.
The Calgary Flames scorching hot play at home continued Saturday night and came in front of their first sellout crowd since last year's New Year's Eve game against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Ottawa-Gatineau area could be hit with a serious bout of freezing rain Sunday evening, Environment Canada is warning.
The waters around the Queen Elizabeth Islands and western Tuvaijuittuq in Canada's High Arctic have long remained a mystery to scientists.
A Vancouver-based company hopes Canadians look to keep some of their investment dollars local and create an impact — even as the trend of money flowing south of the border looks set to continue into 2026.
The last few days have been a winter wonderland for people across Newfoundland and Labrador.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump are about to meet in Florida to forge a plan to end the war in Ukraine, the two leaders face differences over major issues, including territory, as Russian air raids pile pressure on Kyiv.
Researchers at the University of Alberta are looking to pull back the veil on how much carbon from melting permafrost is contributing to climate change.
Picking up petrels has become another part of fall for some folks along the eastern coast of Newfoundland.
Environment Canada has issued yellow warnings for wintry conditions in parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
The Fredericton Playhouse is two years away from drawing its final curtain, and nostalgic theatre-goers and performers have said they’ll miss the building, despite a new arts centre set to open in 2027.
Toronto could see between 20 and 40 millimetres of rain Sunday afternoon, Environment Canada says.