The Alberta NDP elected a leader in a landslide victory last month, but the rest of the province appears unconvinced in his ability to lead, a new poll suggests.
Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi won the Alberta NDP leadership contest on the first ballot on June 22.
In the days following that victory, polling from Abacus Data reveals that the Alberta NDP trails the United Conservative Party by 14 points.
The Abacus Data surveyed 1,000 Albertan voters.
Of the respondents, 54% of decided voters said they would choose the UCP if an election were held today. Another 40% would vote for the Alberta NDP, while 6% would opt for another party.
The UCP holds a 34-point lead over the Alberta NDP outside of Edmonton and Calgary. In Edmonton, where the UCP won no seats in the last election, the Alberta NDP are just two points ahead of the UCP.
UCP caucus whip Shane Getson said that Albertans recognize the work the government is doing to make life better for them. And since the 2023 general election, he said the caucus has created jobs, paid down debt and grown the Heritage Fund.
“Albertans also have no interest in going back to the NDP’s radical ideas and job-killing policies,” he said in a statement to True North. “A change in NDP leadership won’t change that.”
Nenshi has been able to shore up numbers in Calgary, where he served as the mayor from 2010-2021. The Alberta NDP trail the UCP there by four points, down from eight in March.
The survey also shows that the new leader might find success with one major party change he proposed during the leadership campaign — divorcing from the federal branch of the NDP.
After winning the leadership contest, Nenshi told reporters that he won’t wait to put the question to the membership of whether the Alberta NDP should separate from the federal party.
“That’s what members are really talking about, and I hear it every day,” he said at the time. “And the way I like to lead is, I don’t like things that are bubbling under the surface, so I’d like to surface that conversation with members as soon as possible.”
When asked about the possible separation, 49% of Albertans said they supported it, compared to just 21% who opposed it.
When looking at Alberta NDP supporters, 49% said they support the split, as did 43% of federal NDP supporters.
