Alberta NDP have more than $1B in platform promises aimed solely at Calgary
CBC
The Alberta NDP released a slew of platform promises directed at Calgary — something a political analyst says shows just how important the city is in the upcoming election.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says, if elected, her party would build new hospitals, schools, and other major infrastructure in Calgary, spending $1.2 billion on Calgary projects.
Those projects include extending the Green Line LRT north, a Cancer Innovation Hub, a commitment to affordable housing, and downtown revitalization projects including storefront improvements, public spaces, festivals and revitalization of Chinatown.
"Calgary's downtown has long served as a fundamental part of Alberta's economy as well as the city's economy, and it has generated tremendous wealth for the people living here and people all across the province," Notley told a large crowd at the Dalhousie Community Association in northwest Calgary Thursday.
"Calgary has been particularly hard hit. First by the drop in oil prices and then the COVID-19 pandemic and then the economic downturn.
"And despite an increase in global oil prices, we're not seeing the return of investments and jobs in downtown —vibrancy that we used to see in this lovely city."
Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said both the NDP and UCP need to win a substantial number of seats in Calgary if they want to become the next government.
"All roads to victory go through Calgary … The NDP needs more seats in Calgary because their strength in rural Alberta is not as great," she said.
"The UCP cannot win a victory unless they pick up seats in Calgary as well."
Williams added that the promises put out by the NDP Thursday seem to double-down on health care.
Recently, Calgarians have faced long ER wait times, periods of time without surgical support staff in hospitals, and outcry over wait times for medical lab appointments.
"Appealing to the needs and concerns of voters is part of the democratic process, and if it's seen as a genuine response to needs and concerns that are understood by those who are proposing these solutions, that tends to work well for a party," Williams said.
She added that when something is seen as a political strategy it can fall flat, pointing to the arena deal as one example.
Notley said if she was elected premier she would need to take a closer look at the Calgary arena deal, which UCP Leader Danielle Smith has thrown her weight behind.
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