NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi to win Edmonton-Strathcona byelection: unofficial results | Globalnews.ca
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 10:28 p.m., unofficial voting results on Elections Alberta’s website showed Nenshi had secured 7,952 votes with 52 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 1,314 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.
“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.”
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Premier Danielle Smith congratulated Nenshi on his victory with a post on the social media platform X.
“I look forward to constructive debate and, above all, working to advance Alberta’s interests: growing our economy, building critical infrastructure and securing a stronger future for all Albertans,” she wrote.
“I also want to recognize Darby Crouch and her team in Edmonton-Strathcona. While the results didn’t go our way, she ran a passionate, principled campaign and gave voters a real choice.”
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 10:29 p.m., unofficial results indicated Sawyer had received 9,173 votes and that the NDP’s Bev Toews was in second place with 2,966 votes. Cameron Davies, the leader of the separatist Republic Party of Alberta, was in third place with 2,631 votes. As of 10:29 p.m., there were 58 of 60 polls reporting in that riding.
Smith took to social media to congratulate Sawyer on her win.
“Tara ran a focused, grassroots campaign and will be a strong voice for rural Alberta in the legislature,” she wrote.
“I’m just glad that they recognize let’s stay strong and united,” Sawyer said of the riding’s voters giving the UCP a victory.
Davies told Global News that despite his party’s loss in the riding, he believes “there is a growing movement of conservatives who are not happy with the status quo and that movement is not going away anytime soon.”
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 10:32 p.m., unofficial results showed that with 54 of 55 polls reporting, Brar had received 3,107 votes with the UCP’s Naresh Bhardwaj having received the second-most number of votes with 2,352.
In a statement issued shortly before 10:30 p.m., Brar said he believes voters in his riding “sent a clear message to Danielle Smith and the UCP: our community is demanding better.”
“I will be a strong voice in the legislature for southeast Edmonton,” he said. “I will work every day to stay connected, to listen and to fight for what matters most.”
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.
–with a file from The Canadian Press’ Lisa Johnson
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
