Provincial NDP leadership hopeful Rachel Notley is visiting Fort McMurray this afternoon.
She says even though it’s a historically conservative riding, the federal by-election helped show that change may be in the waters.
“Many Albertans are getting very, very tired of the old conservative parties. They want a choice between corrupt on one hand and extreme on the other. And more and more people are looking at us. Alberta is moving forward, it’s changing, it’s growing, more people are coming here every year than any other part of the country,” she said.
She says contrary to what some might think, the NDP doesn’t want to shut down oilsands development.
“Pacing is important, but I also think actually there are a lot of people out there that agree with us. And it’s not Albertans that are benefitting from the huge pace, it’s others. And so we need to make sure – this our resource, it should be developed for our benefit,” she said.
Notley says becoming the party’s leader would be an honour, especially because of who she’d replace.
“I think MLAs from all sides of the house would agree that he’s probably the most skilled parlementarian in the legislature right now. He’s also got a hilarious sense of humour, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to reach to those heights. And for the NDP he brings an incredible sense of strategy and focus,” she said.
Notley’s hosting a meet-and-greet tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Fox Den.
