NDP leader Naheed Nenshi on coming out of retirement: ‘We need pragmatic, thoughtful, smart government’

It’s been a month since the newly crowned leader of Alberta’s New Democrats, Naheed Nenshi, came into power.

The former Calgary mayor took over from departing NDP leader Rachel Notley  in a landslide June vote, capturing 86 per cent of members’ support.

With more than 85,000 signed up following the leadership campaign, the party now boasts the largest provincial wing of New Democrats in the country. The 52-year-old does not have a seat in the legislature yet.

Nenshi joined Carole Anne Devaney to talk about the wildfires in Jasper, his decision to come out of retirement, the state of political leadership and where he may try to run for a seat in the Alberta legislature. Below is an excerpt of that conversation.

Carole Anne Devaney: I wanted to touch on the wildfire situation, which is so immediate, so pressing. You obviously have experience with natural disasters. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the current situation and what you might have learned from the 2013 floods that would be applicable here?

Naheed Nenshi: Well, you know, we did learn a lot in 2013 and since 2013, in fact, in emergency management modelling around the world. There’s something called the ‘Calgary model’ of how to do this, which is something that’s been adopted in a lot of places. But right now, I know a lot of our neighbours had a very scary night last night and that very scary day continuing today.

We’ve been in touch with our friends and neighbours in Jasper to see how things are going. This was a hard one because it was so many tourists as well. So really the only thing I want to say is twofold: number one, please folks, continue to pay attention to the authorities, continue to follow instructions. People are just there to keep you safe, and they will continue to keep you safe. And number two is, let’s just be deeply grateful that we kind of know what to do, that we have a system that sprung into action and that there are extraordinary public servants, extraordinary first responders who are just doing what they need to do to keep people and property safe. And you know what? I’m really grateful for that.

2:05 Nenshi aims to transform Alberta NDP, faces challenge in divided Calgary

Carole Anne Devaney: Do you find it hard not to be in charge right now?

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Naheed Nenshi: Oh my gosh. Right? I just want to jump in and say, ‘All right, what’s going on? How can I help here?’ But I’m not the mayor and I’m not the premier – yet, God willing. But, all I’m able to do is use my platforms, to just get the word out to people: to be grateful, to be calm and to follow instructions.

Carole Anne Devaney: Going back to that landslide leadership win on June 22nd, were you surprised by the overwhelming amount of support that you received?

Naheed Nenshi: Well, you know what? I can’t believe it’s been a month. And it was a funny thing because I’m very evidence driven. And so we were following the data through the campaign, and I kept looking at the data and going, you know, this is wrong. This is like the 20th out of 20 polls, you know, the one that’s wrong. There’s no way these numbers could be this good. And in fact, we were wrong – because the numbers were much better even than the really good numbers that we were anticipating.

But for me, you know, as a politician, that’s fun, right? To be able to say that we got record high numbers, largest number of votes on a first ballot of any provincial politician in Canadian history, it’s a big deal. But at the same time, that’s not what it’s about. What’s been meaningful for me on that day and in the months since then is the number of Albertans I’ve talked to who are just so almost liberated. They’re just saying, ‘You know what? Our politics has become so small and so divisive and so angry, and you’re offering us something different, and you’re offering us an alternative where we get to dream of a better Alberta.’ And to me, that’s really energizing and that’s what’s kept me going.

5:53 Political analyst delves into the victory of Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi

Carole Anne Devaney: And that doesn’t drive you away? The nastiness and the divisiveness – why jump back in it?

Naheed Nenshi: Look, it sure did. I was having a great retirement. You know, I was making some money, not working very hard, doing things that I picked that I enjoyed. And I had two competing thoughts in my mind all the time. The first one was, ‘Wow, politics is so nasty right now. I’m so glad I’m out.’ And the second was, ‘Wow, politics is so nasty right now. We need good people to get back in.’ And frankly, the second one won and it won because the stakes are so high, because the world is changing so swiftly, because so much is happening and we cannot afford a government that is… well, I’ve used some uncharacteristically harsh language to describe the government, but a government that is not just uncaring, but incompetent.

Right now we need pragmatic, thoughtful, smart government that really has a steady hand on the wheel as the world is changing so quickly. And I was really concerned that we just didn’t have that when we saw the electrical grid alert when it got so cold, when we saw the targeting of vulnerable children to try and score political points, I went, ‘We just don’t have the ability to be indulgent right now.’ We cannot be indulgent at hockey games and sitting in luxury boxes and writing hundred million dollar checks to people for, you know, questionable medicines, right? I shouldn’t say questionable, they were medicines, but the whole distribution system was a mess – because the stakes are too high. And that’s really what got me back into it.

You know, I was worried, Carole Anne, I’ll admit it to you. When I jumped in, I thought to myself, geez, I wonder if my kind of politics – both very long-winded, but also a politics that invites people to think about the community as being bigger than themselves – it’s just out of style right now. People are just not going to go for that. So I was very concerned and I was really excited to see just how people have responded and said, you know what? We’re better than our politics, we’re better than our government, and we need people to help guide us there. And so that’s been great.

For the full interview, watch the video player above. 

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