Braid: Monday's byelection bonanza could boost separatists, challenge Nenshi
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Three Alberta byelections next Monday come with much higher stakes than the usual mid-term summer contests.
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They'll show the strength of separatist feeling, and test NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi's support both with the voters and his own party.
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The byelections are in Edmonton-Strathcona, where Nenshi is running; Edmonton-Ellerslie; and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.
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The rural one is fascinating. This is bedrock UCP country, where Nathan Cooper won 75 per cent of the vote in 2023.
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In this riding, on Feb. 17, 1982, Gordon Kesler became the only separatist ever elected in Alberta.
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The crowd at a candidate forum held Tuesday in the riding was heavily in favour of Davies, I'm told.
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The UCP vote is bound to drop somewhat simply because Cooper isn't running. The former legislature speaker was popular as a United Conservative MLA. He's now heading to Washington to represent Alberta.
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But there's no doubt about the surge in separatist feeling. The Republican Party, formerly the Buffalo Party, calls for 'Alberta separatism' and 'Pro-Americanism.' It demands a binding referendum on independence.
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Tara Sawyer is running for the UCP. Bev Toews represents the NDP, whose strategists dream that the separatists will split the conservative vote, and Toews will slip up the middle.
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That's a faint hope, although nobody will be surprised if separatist Davies wins up to 30 per cent.
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Such a strong showing would cause a stir, but only a victory will shake the province. As one observer of the riding said, 'If separatists can't win Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, they sure can't win Alberta.'
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