Notley slams Kenney, UCP in Edmonton-Strathcona nomination speech
Premier Rachel Notley said she will not postpone the spring election as allegations swirl around her rival United Conservative Party.
Notley delivered a campaign-style speech in front of hundreds of supporters on Sunday, after she was nominated for her fourth consecutive term as the NDP candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona. She has represented the NDP stronghold since 2008, building her support in landslide re-election wins in 2012 and 2015.
"This election is about who's going to be Premier, it's about the kind of province we're going to leave for our kids," she said. "The politics of love and hope and optimism always trump the politics of anger, division and fear."
During Sunday's rally, Notley touted her government's record from raising minimum wage to reducing child poverty rates.
Notley also reiterated her continued support for the stalled Trans Mountain pipeline project, while also pushing to diversify the provincial economy.
The NDP have now nominated a full roster of 87 candidates to contest the upcoming provincial election.
Notley said Albertans will head to the polls before May 31 to coincide with province's fixed election date law.
Notley accuses Kenney of lying about "kamikaze" candidate
Notley used Sunday's speech to take several jabs at her political adversary, UCP leader Jason Kenney. She slammed the UCP's plan to freeze government spending until the budget is balanced, while cutting the province's corporate tax rate to the lowest in Canada at eight per cent.
She went on to accuse Kenney of lying about the collaboration between his UCP leadership campaign and the campaign of so-called "kamikaze" candidate Jeff Callaway. CBC News reported on leaked internal UCP documents Saturday night that show Kenney's campaign provided Callaway's team with strategic political direction and talking points aimed at undermining Kenney's main political rival in the 2017 leadership race, Brian Jean.
Both Kenney and Callaway have denied working together on a kamikaze campaign.
"This morning we learned that these denials were actually calm, cool, confident lies. Outright lies," she said. "An alleged conspiracy to torpedo an opponent's leadership campaign takes it to a whole other level."
In a news conference with reporters after the speech, Notley said she would not postpone the election after CBC News reported the RCMP was investigating allegations of irregular contributions involving Jeff Callaway's UCP leadership campaign.
"If I were to have my calendar driven by the timelines around RCMP investigation into conservative wrong-doing then we'd never have an election," she said.
Notley was first elected to the Alberta legislature as MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona in 2008. Then-leader Brian Mason was the only other New Democrat to win a seat in the election.
In 2014, Notley won the party leadership in a landslide first-ballot victory to replace Mason. She became Premier a year later when the NDP won its first majority in the 2015 election.
