Rachel Notley Resigns: Reflecting on Her Transformative Legacy in Alberta Politics

Rachel Notley may soon be gone but her legacy will live on for years 

Few people have shaped Alberta politics more than former Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley. 

Notley, who announced today she is resigning her Edmonton-Strathcona seat, spent a decade bringing about seismic change among progressive voters in Alberta. 

Dating back to when the Earth began to cool, voters on the centre-left in Alberta had a variety of choices, all of which led to the political wilderness.  

Liberal, Alberta Party, the pre-Alberta NDP, you name it. They were never a match for Social Credit, the Progressive Conservatives or any other choice on the political right.  

But in 2024, there is only one undisputed choice on the progressive side of the ballot – and people with that voting inclination have Rachel Notley to thank for that.  

Smart, charismatic, inspiring: Notley was all those things. 

Her rise from leader of a four-seat caucus in 2014 to premier in 2015 was nothing short of meteoric. 

A crippling recession and $29 dollar-a-barrel oil made governing Alberta more difficult than anyone could imagine. But even her harshest critics should give her credit for providing compassionate and level-headed leadership during challenging times. 

In 2019, she transformed herself into a fierce and relentless Leader of the Official Opposition. 

UCP Premier Jason Kenney did not have a moment to breathe. 

In 2023, Notley was a few thousand votes in Calgary short of returning to the Premier’s Office, narrowly losing to Danielle Smith. However, even the best politicians have an expiry date. 

In politics, where timing is everything, her departure today couldn’t have been better timed for her party. New NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi still does not have a seat in the Alberta Legislature. He needs to be there to be a fully functional head of the Official Opposition. 

As we said in a blog earlier this summer, a short stint for Nenshi in what is likely the safest provincial NDP seat in Canada is a fine place for the new leader to be.  

Notley has given more than her share to the Alberta NDP and to progressive politics in the province. 

This past year, progressive voters have been able to show Notley the love that she has earned in their movement. She seemed to pop up everywhere in progressive circles and she was treated like a rock star everywhere she went. 

Speculation on what her next chapter will be is for another time. 

Today we wish her nothing but the best.