Alberta labour leader out of NDP leadership race as party membership swells to 85,000-plus

There’s one less horse in the race.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan has dropped out of the race to become the next leader of Alberta’s NDP.

“I’m writing today to let you know that I’ve made the hard decision to suspend my leadership campaign,” he wrote in an email Monday morning. “Paying the final instalment of the $60,000 entry fee — which was due last night at midnight — has proven too much for me.”

This leaves just four people left in the contest — MLAs Kathleen Ganley, Sarah Hoffman and Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, and former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

The contenders converged on Calgary’s BMO Centre Saturday night, where McGowan capped portion of the debate with a plea for donations.

“If I don’t raise another $50,000 soon, I’m toast,” he said.

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McGowan’s announcement comes as the party releases the final number of eligible voters for the June contest.

In a statement late Sunday, chief returning officer for the Alberta NDP Leadership Race, announced that the party’s membership had swelled to 85,144.

When Edmonton MLA Rakhi Pancholi dropped out of the race in March, she cited Nenshi’s membership push in more than doubling the size of the Alberta NDP in just a week.

She ultimately endorsed the former Calgary mayor.

McGowan has yet to throw his support behind another contestant.

The NDP has confirmed to CityNews that as of Dec. 31, 2023 the party had 16,224 members.

The leadership race began in January after Rachel Notley announced her intention to step down after a decade as leader.