The Alberta NDP leader does not believe the direction of the federal party is in the best interest of Albertans.
Naheed Nenshi issued the statement after party members chose Avi Lewis as leader of the federal New Democratic Party over the weekend, giving him a majority on the first ballot with 56 per cent support.
Lewis’s stance on the energy sector is an area where the two men do not agree. In his first speech as leader, Lewis said he believes the country needs to move away from the uncertain energy market, something Nenshi has already publicly disagreed with.
“We believe in more pipelines and in reducing emissions,” Nenshi wrote. “We believe in strong public services and a strong jobs-driven economy to help pay for them. This is what we are fighting for every day.”
Nenshi said Lewis has, in the past, openly cheered for the defeat of the Alberta NDP government.
“Last year, Alberta’s New Democrats voted overwhelmingly to make membership in the federal party optional,” Nenshi wrote. “Many thousands of our provincial members, including myself, are not members of the federal party.”
He said the Alberta NDP is a “big tent” that welcomes support from people who vote for different federal parties.
According to Nenshi, the provincial party will not focus on the federal NDP, but will instead push back against decisions by the United Conservative Party government and Premier Danielle Smith that he said do not serve Albertans.
The Alberta NDP Leader is not the only one to speak out against the new federal leader. Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck also raised concerns about Lewis’s stance on the energy sector.
In a letter to Lewis, Beck said she would not meet with him until he changes positions she said would hurt thousands of people in her province. She called his views on natural resource development “ideological and unrealistic.”
“Your approach has not only taken aim at the resources, but at the people who work in these sectors – and it ignores the realities not only in this province but across the country,” Beck wrote. “Today, there are 40,000 direct and indirect Saskatchewan jobs tied to natural resource development — there are at least 900,000 nationwide. Entire communities in Saskatchewan rely on these sectors. The policies and positions you have advocated for put at risk $13.6 billion in economic activity annually in Saskatchewan.”
She added that it is difficult to support working people while opposing the jobs they currently hold.
“You have repeatedly claimed you’re laser-focused on affordability; however, the policy positions you have taken don’t reflect that. Our resource sectors, now and moving forward, are how we deliver on Tommy Douglas’ dream of universal health care, good schools and strong social supports for our most vulnerable,” she wrote.
During a Monday morning news conference, Lewis said he would not change his positions, saying members of the federal party gave him a strong mandate.
