It has been a year since former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi became the leader of Alberta’s New Democratic Party, and now he is set to lead his party inside the legislature as the new MLA for Edmonton-Strathcona.
Unofficial results indicate Nenshi has easily won his seat in Monday’s byelection in the riding previously held by former Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley.
As of 9:59 p.m., unofficial voting results on Elections Alberta’s website showed Nenshi had secured 6,036 votes with 48 of 52 polls in the riding reporting. The candidate with the second-most votes at that time was the United Conservative Party’s Darby Crouch with 1,068 votes.
“I’m deeply honoured and grateful for the trust this community has placed in me,” read part of a statement from Nenshi in a news release issued shortly after 10 p.m. “It means the world to have the opportunity to serve Edmonton-Strathcona and all Albertans as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
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“I’m ready to get to work building an Alberta where everyone has a real shot at a good life. Where jobs are strong, life is affordable, and opening your utility bill doesn’t make your stomach drop. Where health care is accessible, and yes, where every family finally has a family doctor.”
Global News also projects that United Conservative Party candidate Tara Sawyer has won and kept her governing party’s seat in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. As of 10:02 p.m., unofficial results indicated Sawyer had received 7,541 votes with the NDP’s Bev Toews in second place with 2,474 votes and Cameron Davies, the leader of the separatist Republic Party of Alberta, having 2,077 votes and with 47 of 60 polls reporting.
The Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills seat was previously held by longtime UCP legislature member Nathan Cooper, who resigned in the spring to take on the role of being Alberta’s representative in Washington, D.C.
In all, there are three byelections being held in Alberta on Monday. The third is in Edmonton-Ellerslie where Global News projects NDP candidate Gurtej Singh Brar has won, holding the seat for that party. The NDP had been hoping to continue to keep all ridings in Alberta’s capital orange while the UCP had hoped to make inroads in the city.
As of 10:09 p.m., unofficial results showed that with 53 of 55 polls reporting, Brar had received 3,101 votes with the UCP’s Naresh Bhardwaj having received the second-most number of votes with 2,328.
Once results in all three ridings are officially confirmed, the new seat count in the legislature will see the governing UCP holding 47, the NDP with 38, and two sitting as Independents.
More to come…
–with a file from The Canadian Press’ Lisa Johnson
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
