Naheed Nenshi Made a Stop in Edmonton, as Part of his Alberta NDP Leadership Campaign

He was soft, humble, inspiring, cautious, and impactful, drawing countless applause, flavoured with a welcome standing ovation from the about 1,500 excited audience members at the Polish Hall, overflowing its capacity.

Edmonton had the chance to hear directly from former Calgary Mayor, Naheed Nenshi, at a meeting in Edmonton today, March 26, at the Polish Hall.

He drew the loudest applause when he called Premier Danielle Smith’s Government, “….not only incompetent but immoral and dangerous…”

“I’ve never seen a government that’s so disinterested in governing….,” Nenshi stressed to the excited crowd with a message of hope, optimism, and inclusion.

Mayor Nenshi also drew another loud applause when he gave credit to outgoing NDP Leader, Rachel Notley, for taking the party to where it is today.

When asked by a show of hands, those who hold NDP membership, about 25% of the estimated 1,500 in attendance raised their hands. When asked those who just recently bought memberships to raise their hands, about 75% lifted their hands.

It’s no surprise the momentum that Nenshi’s campaign and message have so far in this race, demonstrated by eye-popping numbers. He said his campaign got over 4,000 registered volunteers in the first few days of launching the campaign, about 6,000 endorsements, 300 volunteers in UCP blue Red Deer, and 20 times more members signed than anticipated, some said they broke the server twice.

MLA Rakhi Pancholi, the rising star of the NDP completed her endorsement of Nenshi by making an impressive introduction of Nenshi to the stage.

Watch the video here and stay tuned for more updates on the Alberta NDP Leadership Election from Diversity Magazine.