With Naheed Nenshi as the new leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP), former Airdrie East ex-NDP Candidate Dan Nelles believes the future could be bright.

Nenshi won the race for leader last week after former leader Rachel Notley announced shortly after the latest provincial election that she would be stepping down.

According to a recent NDP press release, Nenshi stated he is excited for this next chapter.

"I am truly humbled and honoured to have been selected to lead the Alberta NDP into its next era. The excitement and optimism I’ve felt throughout this leadership race proves that Albertans want a government they can trust and believe in,” said Nenshi. “Every one of my fellow candidates demonstrates great passion, leadership, and intelligence — I want to thank them and their teams and I can’t wait to get to work with them as part of the larger Alberta NDP family."

Nelles stated he is excited to see Neshi help grow the NDP and possibly form the next provincial government in 2027.

"What he brings to Alberta politics is this incredible, pragmatic and reasoned approach to governing. The wealth of experience that he has will serve all Albertans on the provincial stage."

According to Nelles, his understanding of things like municipal politics, governmental relations, fiscal policy and much more will help him in the long run.

"We in Airdrie East are excited for his leadership because he brings this energy with him and he attracts people in so he can listen to them and converse with them and get a firm understanding of what Albertans issues are."

Nelles brought up the topic of schools and stated that Neshi understands how Airdrie being one of the fastest-growing cities in Alberta needs help with spaces for students to learn.

"As a former mayor of Calgary (from 2010-2021), he is perfectly positioned to be able to understand what that need looks like, and what he, as the premier of Alberta, would need to do to fix the issue for Airdrie."

During the leadership race, Neshi visited Airdrie in April where he visited with Airdronians to understand their concerns.

"I've never seen more interest in the Alberta NDP than has been associated with Nenshi's leadership bid and campaign. People want to be part of this movement, they want to hear what he has to say and they're excited for the vision that he brings to the NDP."

Before the leadership race began the Alberta NDP had 16,224 members. By the end of the leadership race, eligible voting members grew to 85,227. 

Nelles finished off by stating he is interested in possibly running once again as the candidate for the NDP in the Airdrie East riding once the next provincial election rolls around.

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