Experts say the party needs to win at least 20 of Calgary’s 26 seats to win the election
Before the provincial election in 2023, the Alberta New Democrat Party will have a new home. It will be in Calgary, which is expected to be a battleground.
Rachel Notley, the leader of the opposition, said on Sunday that her party will move its campaign headquarters to the city’s downtown core. One expert says it’s a strategic move that fits a story that political watchers have.speculated on for months.
Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, says that Notley and the NDP need to do well in Calgary to beat the United Conservative Party, which is expected to do well in rural areas.
“Even if they take northeast Calgary and a couple of the others close to downtown, that puts them at 11, 10, and 12,” he said in an interview on Sunday.
“That doesn’t cut it… “With the exception of the real deep south and maybe Calgary-West, they will have to win everything else.”
In 2015, when the NDP won the election, they won a record number of 15 seats in Calgary. During the 2019 election, that number dropped to just three.
Bratt said that this time, the stakes are even higher because the Wildrose Party isn’t around to split votes.
‘Community-specific campaign
Notley said that the move lets candidates get to know voters and talk about issues that are important to them.
Notley said, “We’re going to see a very targeted campaign in each community.”
“Our way to win is to focus on the kinds of issues that will make life better for Albertans here in Calgary and all over the province,” said the leader of the Alberta Party.
Notley said that Albertans are worried about things like the provincial police force in the towns around Edmonton and the cost of health care, education, and housing in Calgary.
At a party conference on Sunday, Notely told reporters that getting seats in Calgary was very important.
She said, “We do a lot of work here and all over the city.”
“Without a doubt, Calgary has a lot of seats, and you can bet that I will spend at least a third of my time here.”
Even though she moved away from a campaign center in Edmonton, Notley said she would not forget about the city where her party is likely to win seats.
Notley said, “I’m glad Edmontonians have had a chance to learn what it’s like to have an NDP MLA and that we have a lot of trust there.”
“I also know it’s not something to take for granted.” “We earned that trust in the beginning, and we have to keep working hard to keep it.”