Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi confirmed Monday he will seek the leadership of Alberta's New Democrats, changing the trajectory of the race to replace Rachel Notley.

Nenshi's candidacy has fuelled the Alberta political rumour mill for more than a month. 

In early February, the 52-year-old wrote in a statement to CBC News that he had been "listening to a lot of pitches from party members and other Albertans" and suggested he would have more to say in the coming weeks.

In an interview with CBC News on Monday, Nenshi said he was entering the race based on his concerns that the governing United Conservative Party is "not only incompetent, but they're actually immoral and they're dangerous."

He said too many Albertans can't find doctors, classrooms are overcrowded, and suggested the UCP can only "pick fights and waste money."

"They punch down on the vulnerable and they've left us completely unprepared for a world that is changing," he told the CBC's Scott Dippel in an interview. 

"Ideally, we need to build an Alberta that is a beacon of hope for everyone around the world."

Nenshi joins a field of five candidates that includes Edmonton NDP MLAs Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, Sarah Hoffman and Rakhi Pancholi, as well as Calgary MLA Kathleen Ganley and long-time labour leader Gil McGowan.

A former business professor at Calgary's Mount Royal University with a master's degree in public policy from Harvard, Nenshi secured an unlikely come-from-behind victory in the 2010 Calgary mayoral election and served three terms as mayor until 2021.

He has long been known for his purple trademark — a mix of Liberal red and Conservative blue. He'll join the NDP leadership race as a sort of outsider, given his stated long-time aversion to partisan politics.

But he said his values and the Alberta NDP's values were closely aligned, suggesting they were fundamentally Alberta values. 

He acknowledged his lack of deep roots in the party but said that perspective might help the party move past what had hindered its success in previous elections.

"I want to bring back an era of optimism, a sense that the NDP stands for a better Alberta, an Alberta for all of us, which is my campaign line," he said. 

"But really, a sense of joy and pride in Alberta instead of a sense of we're always under attack, and a bunker mentality, and we've just got to defend what we've got instead of opening ourselves up to an even better future."

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley celebrated Nenshi's endorsement at a campaign event three days before last spring's election. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Still, Nenshi said he believes the entire constitution of the party needs a modernization, including its relationship with the federal NDP, adding his analysis was that the costs of federation vastly outweighed the benefits of being affiliated with the party. 

But such decisions would be left up to the members of the party, he added.

"This party is a formidable political force. It doesn't need a saviour. I'm not coming in to save it. Three quarters of a million Albertans voted for it last time," he said.

"It is no longer a tiny little branch plant of a federal party that needs that support."

The Alberta NDP has long enjoyed a strong base of support in Edmonton. Though the party picked up a majority of seats in Calgary when the NDP won the 2015 election, it was nearly wiped off the board in 2019. 

In 2023, the party saw growing support in Calgary, but expanding it is understood by political observers as being a key priority in the next election.

Notley announced in mid-January she would step down as NDP leader when members chose her replacement. Under the rules of the leadership contest, which kicked off Feb. 5, candidates who want to run must enter the race before this Friday. 

Members must purchase or renew a membership by April 22 to vote in the race. The new leader of the party will be announced on June 22.

More to come.