Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley attends a campaign rally with supporters in Calgary on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Albertans go to the polls on May 29. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a major rally in downtown Calgary Saturday morning, while her United Conservative rival had no public events planned this weekend after a final pitch to voters a day earlier.
Election day is Monday.
Notley told about 1,200 cheering supporters, who lined up around the block to get into the event, that her party offers the best way to build a better future for Albertans.
“The Alberta NDP shares your love for this great province – the towering ambition of our cities, the wild ruggedness of our landscapes and the warmth of our people,” she said Saturday.
“Albertans are compassionate and hardworking and honest and you deserve a government that lives up to those values.”
Notley said many residents don’t trust the UCP or its leader Danielle Smith to do so.
“She wants to go after my record. I’m proud of my record,” she said to more cheers. “My record, our record is more jobs, better health care and cutting child poverty in half.”
Smith said Friday she would aim to lower the level of political polarization in Alberta if her party wins what has been a tight and often bitter race.
She made the remarks during her last news conference before election day.
Two Calgary UCP candidates, Nicholas Milliken and Mike Ellis, held a news conference later Saturday morning to announce affordable mental health supports for children, youth and all Albertans.
There was also a statement from Lethbridge UCP candidate Nathan Neudorf that his government would work to reduce crime and disorder, while supporting mental health and addiction.
Saturday was also the final day of advance polls, which close around 8 p.m.
More than 655,000 people had already voted this week as of noon local time Saturday. That’s comparable to the 696,000 who voted early in the 2019 general election.
Polls will be open Monday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2023.
