The Alberta NDP is set to announce its new leader Saturday.
This comes as outgoing leader Rachel Notley, sporting an Edmonton Oilers jersey, gave a farewell speech to party members Friday night in Calgary.
After 10 years at the helm, she told party members the NDP is the strongest it has been in its history.
Four candidates are running to replace her: former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi; former cabinet ministers Sarah Hoffman and Kathleen Ganley; and rookie legislature member Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse.
Nenshi, seen as the frontrunner for the leadership with membership sales spiking after he joined the race, paid tribute to Notley on social media.
He calls her a “Once-in-a-generation leader.”
“Under her stewardship, the party transformed from a modest presence in the legislature to a political force, securing a historic election victory and redefining what it means to lead with conviction in Alberta,” his post reads.
“Rachel is a once-in-a-generation leader who built a party, a movement, and she took our province to greater heights.”
Nenshi has come under fire by some in the party as an opportunistic johnny-come-lately with political leanings more Liberal red than NDP orange.
Nenshi has dismissed that criticism, saying his values are core Alberta ones.
Notley’s NDP swept to power as a majority government in 2015, ending a four-decade Progressive Conservative dynasty.
She announced in January she was leaving the job after the party lost its second consecutive election to the United Conservative Party.
Throughout the leadership race, the party’s membership has grown exponentially — last month, the party said its total membership had reached 85,144.
On Dec. 31, 2023, the party had 16,224 members.
With files from Lauryn Heintz and The Canadian Press