Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has finally called a by-election in Edmonton Strathcona, four months after NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi was acclaimed as the Opposition party’s candidate in the riding long held former premier Rachel Notley.
The premier also called by-elections to fill two other seats, Edmonton-Ellerslie, where former MLA Rod Loyola resigned to run for the federal Liberals before being skidded for remarks he made years ago at a rally, and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, to replace former Speaker Nathan Cooper who is about to resign to become Alberta’s trade representative in Washington.
While the UCP will try hard in Edmonton-Ellerslie to score a seat in NDP-dominated Edmonton, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills may be the riding with the most potential for an interesting outcome if the separatist lunatics encouraged by Premier Smith to own the Libs in Ottawa split the vote enough to embarrass the government.
With the caveat that nothing in politics is impossible, a split big enough to elect a New Democrat in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills is about as unlikely as a Conservative victory in Edmonton-Strathcona, one of the safest NDP ridings in the province.
The by-elections will be held on June 23, pretty much in the middle of the dog days of summer. Advance voting will take place from June 17 to June 21.
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