After an illustrious career in the NDP movement, including 16 years in government, 4 of which were as premier, Rachel Notley is stepping down as party leader. She made her last appearance as the leader of the Opposition in the Legislature on May 29, 2024.
Here’s how it went.
The last day
She thanked her husband and kids (who she noted clean up nicely) and her political staff and caucus.
Danielle Smith made some remarks acknowledging Notley’s long career and saying Notley was “an effective parliamentarian [who] remained committed to her principles.”
Then Notley used the short time allotted to her to outline the accomplishments that likely meant the most to her.
- She said that contrary to what the UCP have said, the NDP government was not responsible for the global oil price crash. In fact, Notley added, the greatest impact a government can have on oil prices is to create market access to get Alberta’s oil to tidewater. (ie TMX)
- Her government cut child poverty in half.
- They built and modernized 240 schools.
- They phased out coal to create the biggest carbon emissions reduction in Canada’s history.
Yep, that’s impressive.
Then, speech over, the Assembly went back to its usual business.
Notley sparred with Smith in Question Period over motel medicine, hallway healthcare, blowing up AHS, the rising cost of living and transgender youth policy. Her MLAs took up where they’d left off demanding answers to questions about legislation intended to limit the powers of municipalities and to tear apart AHS.
And finally, Notley introduced Bill 214, the Eastern Slopes Protection Act, which is intended to protect the sensitive lands and watersheds of the Eastern Slopes from increased coal mining activity. It was a fitting last act for the outgoing Opposition leader. It would be even more fantastic if the UCP government found a way to support the Bill, but I’m not holding my breath.
The big picture
Notley’s last day as Opposition leader provided a snapshot of her term as the leader of the NDP, however what mattered the most for me couldn’t be captured in legislation and debate. What made Notley’s term special was she gave me hope.
By unseating the firmly entrenched conservative government after 44 years she gave me hope that (even though the NDP lost the 2023 election) they will unseat the UCP in 2027.
Because after 3 more years of the UCP, Alberta will be ready for a calm, thoughtful government that strengthens essential public services instead of shredding them, that protects the environment instead of selling it to the highest bidder, that addresses climate change instead of kicking the can down the road to be dealt with later.
A government that consults with its citizens instead of surprising them with “gotcha” legislation it never campaigned on.
A government that knows how to govern without turning Alberta into a 3-ring circus that causes the rest of Canada to call and ask if we need a wellness check.
A government led by a leader as bright, intelligent, and caring as Rachel Notley.
Susan on the Soapbox 
Susan: Thanks for another great blog. Rachel Notley will be missed, for sure. She didn’t have it easy, when she had to contend with oil prices that sunk in 2014, when the NDP weren’t in power, and she also had to deal with decades of negligence, such as with public education, public healthcare, and infrastructure issues, and a practically depleted revenue stream, that were caused by the Alberta PCs, ever since Peter Lougheed was no longer the premier of Alberta.
Rachel Notley did her best, and started to make things better for Albertans, and would have been able to continue to do that, had she and the NDP been re-elected in 2019.
Unfortunately, we got stuck with the UCP, and we are going backwards, in so many ways, where affordability issues are a serious matter, many people are struggling, we are seeing even more money wasted on very costly debacles, public education, and public healthcare are suffering, the environment is not being taken care of and democracy is being stifled.
I’ll share some more fitting music. This is from Fleetwood Mac, and was written by the (late) band member, Christine McVie. This is Don’t Stop, and it was recorded and released in 1977.
I did see Fleetwood Mac live, around 10 years ago, and this is in my music collection.
Dwayne, thanks for the song clip…great lyrics urging us to focus on tomorrow.
Over the last 16 years Rachel was instrumental in pushing the NDP into the forefront. We have to continue what she and the leaders who preceded her started. I do believe we will win in 2027. The UCP is a party made up of disparate bits. It won’t hold together over the long run.
PS I think that album cover is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen. I’ll bet the concert you saw was outstanding.
Susan: Political party mergers in Alberta do not succeed. Preston Manning was behind different ones.
In the 1960s, Preston Manning made the suggestion to Peter Lougheed that the Alberta PC party that he was trying to resurrect, should merge with his father, Ernest Manning and the Social Credit Party. Peter Lougheed was smart and said no to that.
In 2014, Preston Manning suggested that Danielle Smith’s Wildrose party should merge with the Alberta PCs, led by Jim Prentice. Danielle Smith took the advice, and went along with the bulk of her Wildrose MLAs. In 2015, the voters in her riding never forgave her for that and dumped her.
Preston Manning also had a role in creating the UCP. The UCP will not endure, because there are divisions in the party. The UCP is comprised of two parties that have differences. It can’t last.
The CPC is of a similar construct. It’s a surprise they lasted this long. There are divisions from within that party too.
Susan: Here are some incredible insights on Rachel Notley and the NDP.
https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/digest-ralph-kleins-daughter-backs-ndp
https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-rachel-notley-has-led-like-lougheed
Dwayne, thanks for the newspaper links. It’s unfortunate that Peter Lougheed didn’t have a chance to publicly weigh in on Notley’s NDP and the misguided bunch of misfits who call themselves “conservatives” in this province. I’m sure he’d choose Notley over the succession of PC, WR, and UCP leaders who’ve led this province into the ditch.
Susan: I recall that Peter Lougheed was one of Danielle Smith’s professors, or lecturers at the University of Calgary. Whatever he taught her went in one ear and came out the other. Also, I recall hearing that Peter Lougheed didn’t trust Danielle Smith. I’m sure that if Peter Lougheed were still alive, he would have nothing good to say about Danielle and the UCP in general.
Dwayne, I agree!
Susan: Here is two other newspaper article links. Danielle Smith is very bad, and Bill 8 was created so that the UCP can get away with doing anything bad.
https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/former-red-deer-pc-attorney-general-jim-foster-takes-issue-with-smiths-ethics-violation-6826729
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-amends-conflicts-of-interest-act-changes-rules-for-ethics-commissioner-gift-limits
Thanks Dwayne: it’s stunts like this that drive the “progressive” conservatives out of the UCP. Truly shocking as the former PC attorney general said.
well said, Susan. She and the NDP will be remembered for the remarkable strides made to the Alberta political scene. Growing the party to a such a formidable opposition will be her legacy. Thank you, Rachel. You brought us hope and put the party in a very healthy state moving forward. 🧡🧡🧡
Dianne, I agree with you 100%. Notley set the NDP up for success and there are a number of people running in the leadership race that have the intelligence and tenacity to take the party back into power.
Susan: Here is my next song pick, and it is from Led Zeppelin.This is a Jimmy Page and Robert Plant composition, called Friends. It was recorded and released in 1970. Band member, and drummer, John Bonham, would have been 76, on May 31. He passed away on September 25, 1980, at age 32. This is also in my music collection.
Dwayne, I don’t think I’ve never heard this song. Very intriguing music supported by simple lyrics. But a good message “The greatest thing you ever can do now/Is trade a smile with someone who’s blue now.”
Thanks.
PS: your music collect must be HUGE!
She gave us some of the best years of her life, and made us all proud. A class act to follow
noklebym: You’re right. All her life, even before she entered politics, she fought for the underdog. A remarkable woman. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Susan: Here is my final song pick. This is from Procol Harum, and it is You Can’t Turn Back The Page. This was written by Gary Brooker, Matt Noble and Keith Reid. It was recorded live in concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Greenwood Singers, on May 29, and May 30, 1992. I was at this concert. Gary Brooker would have been 79 on May 29. He passed away on February 12, 2022, at age 76. I also met him, and the other members of Procol Harum.
Dwayne: this is such a moving piece and hearing it with the Edmonton Symphony makes it even more special. Thanks for the background on Gary Brooker et al.
Susan: This is the hard-core reality Danielle Smith and the UCP will have to contend with. She cannot blame Rachel Notley, Justin Trudeau, or the extinct and irrelevant NEP (which Brian Mulroney shelved in the 1980s).
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Oil-Prices-Shed-Over-3-As-Market-Digests-OPEC-Move.html
I’ve known Rachel Notley for some 25-odd years, and she’s a smart, articulate and classy woman. She almost single-handedly brought Alberta’s New Democrats from a rump party with four seats to government, and even though they were defeated after only one term, she made the New Democrats into a political force in opposition and contenders to be re-elected to government — something that no party in Alberta political history has ever done once being defeated.
She’ll be a hard act to follow, no matter who wins on June 22nd.
Jerrymacgp: Lucky you! I’ve met her a handful of times, including a long coffee meeting a few years ago. I was struck by her intelligence and her sense of humour. She could run rings around each and every conservative politician who crossed her path.
I think the big difference between Rachel and Danielle (and this tripped Rachel up in the debate) is that Rachel won’t lie to make a point whereas Smith will say whatever she thinks is necessary without a flicker of concern that she’s spewing garbage. Her comment that the unvaccinated were the most persecuted group in her lifetime comes to mind.
As you said, she’ll be a hard act to follow.
I am very sorry to see Rachel Notley leave. She definitely changed the NDP into a political force in Alberta and deservedly so.
Many people here have read my comments about her politics and I have never been shy to say that I do not agree with her very light social democratic views but it does not mean she has not done a great job.
I would have voted for her anytime. She is smart, she is honest and very bright. She is definitely a very talented politician that makes the UCP look like a bunch of idiots.
Unfortunately she is in the wrong province. Most people in Alberta do not appreciate a light center/left political system. It entails a more well distributed income level and greed has taken over the minds of those that have had the most access to the vast amounts of money this province has generated.
Initially when Peter Lougheed was premier the loot was more well distributed but as always once the capitalist system takes hold concentration starts and the fight for more an more develops and we see what we are now witnessing in the older stages of the economic cycle. The bones are disappearing and do not have as much meat as they did before.
I wish her well.
Carlos: If Danielle Smith saw where oil prices are now heading, she’d have a meltdown. Oil prices are going down.
I wished you were right. Let her meltdown or breakdown. Fireworks will be on the menu the day that happens.
Dwayne: Smith will blame Trudeau and the carbon tax which, as we all know has nothing to do with the global price of oil.
Carlos: just to pick up on your comment about Rachel, it illustrates a very important point, namely that even if we support a politician or a political party we shouldn’t be afraid to offer constructive criticism. (Let’s face it no one is perfect and no one gets it right every time). We can critique the party leader because we live in a democracy (a distinction that people who support authoritarians don’t seem to understand). My husband and I have this conversation all the time. We can’t figure out whether the public is getting stupider or greedier; both of which makes them vulnerable to the Poilievres and Trumps of the world.
In any event it doesn’t bode well for the future.
Susan I very much agree with you. It is not easy to have a good conversations anymore. It was never easy in Alberta unless it was in favour of Conservatism. The consequences are very clear. After 43 years people became dogmatic and defensive about anything else. Despite very high levels of education and good standards of living, I have never lived in a place where it is as difficult to discuss politics in general.
In the last couple of months I have been in a group conversation where people actually mentioned passages of the Bible to justify their very hard right wing beliefs. It is not only something I have not seen anywhere else in the West, but also the very first time I have seen the literal interpretation of the Bible since my first years of education when I was a very young man in elementary school.
Carlos: people were quoting passages from the Bible to justify their right wing beliefs. Wow, that’s alarming. If nothing else it indicates that there is no logical or rational explanation to support that person’s opinion, nevertheless it’s scary to think that’s how difficult dialogue has become in this province.