Alberta NDP leader says province needs to treat cities like Medicine Hat with more consistency

Medicine Hat’s city council, divided over the actions of its mayor, was thrown into a state of political chaos over the past 14 months that critics say will define its term in office.

In December 2023, a petition asking the Alberta government to carry out a municipal inspection — a non-financial audit that includes interviews and sifting through bylaws determine the health of a municipality — received just shy of 8,000 physical signatures. The petition was never submitted for verification.

The first known instance of Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver getting involved in Medicine Hat’s council conflict was in July when he offered mediation at a meeting with Mayor Linnsie Clark, councillors and senior city staff.

Council in September voted to formally request a municipal inspection that McIver accepted and launched. It’s expected to be completed before the next election.

Nenshi, who served as Calgary’s mayor for over a decade, said he would as premier rescind a pair of bills introduced in the spring of 2024 by the ruling United Conservatives.

Bill 18 requires Alberta schools, health agencies and municipalities — labelled as “provincial entities” — to get approval from the province to enter into any agreements with the federal government. That legislation, coming into effect in 2025, could impact federal grants given to a municipality, for example.

Bill 20 allows for the creation of municipal-only political parties in Edmonton and Calgary — essentially a pilot project the province says aims to increase transparency and could be expanded to more municipalities later.

The legislation also bans electronic tabulators, expands registration requirement and gives the province sweeping powers over city councils.

A Medicine Hat city councillor said in May that amendments made to Bill 20 were “not enough”, encouraging voters to raise their voice against the move.

Nenshi’s New Democrats have called the pair of bills undemocratic.

“There’s nothing worth keeping in those bills. We should repeal pretty much every provision of those bills, and use that as an opportunity to strengthen the MGA,” he said in the roundtable, referencing the Municipal Government Act.

“When Alberta became a province, when Canada became a country, it was largely agrarian. And now, Alberta is one of the most urbanized places on earth; over 80 per cent of us live in cities, in towns and cities,” he continued.

“So we need to make sure that those towns and cities can run well, that the will of the local electors, the local citizens is respected.”

He said the province was going further than previous UCP governments that neglected municipalities by instead treating local governments with “open contempt”.

“They don’t have any respect for local voters who have elected local officials,” he said.

Nenshi was elected leader of the New Democrats with 86 per cent support in June, replacing his predecessor Rachel Notley. Over the past year, NDP membership has grown from 8,000 to about 90,000 members, Nenshi said, making it one of the largest provincial political parties in Canada.

Nenshi says he is looking to reach voters across Alberta and has prioritized visiting the province’s more rural areas.

While he admitted the response he receives in Ponoka is not the same he hears in a strong orange territory like Edmonton, he’s found that Albertans are usually willing to hear him out.

“People are really generous with their time. They’re really willing to talk to us about what’s important to them,” Nenshi said, adding that he’s noticed many of the issues Albertans have are the same no matter where they live.

“Of course, there are issues around agriculture and ranching in some places, but by and large, people want to talk about healthcare, about education, about jobs, about the cost of living and about crime,” he said.

“What’s interesting, though, is that the emphasis is different. Rural crime looks different than crime in downtown Calgary, obviously, but nonetheless, exceptionally important to people.”

The NDP leader has made two recent public appearances in Medicine Hat.

Nenshi in June held a town hall in the historic Monarch Theatre just days before the leadership election that swept the former mayor into the role of Opposition leader. He called that visit to the Gas City “one of the defining moments of my decade” during the roundtable.

Later in 2024, he walked, full of energy and donning a cowboy hat, in the Medicine Hat Stampede and Exhibition’s annual parade, in front of thousands of onlookers.

For the New Democrats to once again form government, it will be required to gain seats in places beyond the major city centres that are bastions of support for the party.

Nenshi, who doesn’t yet hold a seat in the legislature, acknowledged the challenge of finding widespread support in Alberta’s most rural areas.

“I understand that Alberta’s new Democrats have not always shown up for you, that we haven’t always been present for you,” Nenshi said.

“But…we’re going to show up, and we’re going to listen, we’re going to understand.”

by Eli J. Ridder

Alberta NDP leader says province needs to treat cities like Medicine Hat with more consistency

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