Some red has trickled into the orange in Alberta politics. Former Liberal cabinet minister Kent Hehr invited people to attend a fundraiser he was affiliated with for Alberta NDP leadership candidate Naheed Nenshi’s campaign, according to an email obtained by the Western Standard. “I hope you can join Naheed Nenshi on Thursday, March 28 5-7 pm at the Calgary Petroleum Club at 319 Fifth Ave. SW, Calgary, AB, to hear his vision for Alberta,” said Hehr in an email to his friends. “This event isn’t just about politics; it’s about the future of our province.” .While Hehr is a federal Liberal, he said he “followed with great interest the provincial election and was hopeful for Rachel Notley to be elected premier.”“This was not in the cards,” he said. “Although the election was close, as the saying goes, close only counts in ‘horseshoes and hand grenades.’”During the Alberta election, he said it boiled down to a question of leadership, with some people concerned about Premier Danielle Smith’s ability to lead. With Rachel Notley stepping down, he acknowledged he would watch with great interest as to how the leadership race unfolded and hoped there were serious conversations about future stances. While Hehr used to be a Liberal MP, he resigned from cabinet in 2018 amid allegations of sexual harassment and has been out of office since 2019. At the moment, Alberta has two Liberal MPs — Randy Boissonnault (Edmonton Centre) and George Chahal (Calgary-Skyview). Boissonnault’s press secretary Mathis Denis denied he was working with Nenshi’s campaign. “Minister Boissonnault is not involved in any NDP Leadership Campaign and he is not involved in Mr. Nenshi’s fundraising nor attending any campaign events,” said Denis. Sources have informed the Western Standard Chahal is involved with Nenshi’s campaign. While they are friends, no tangible proof has been made public about this involvement. Hehr was involved with launching a national fundraising campaign for Housing Minister Sean Fraser in February, but it was unclear if it was for a possible Liberal leadership bid. READ MORE: Liberal housing minister starts national fundraising in Calgary of all places“Hopeful about the future!” he said. “While many are counting the federal Liberals as being dead on arrival in the next election, I think the outcome of this is far from clear.” Nenshi decided on March 11 he was out with the purple and in with the orange. READ MORE: UPDATED: Nenshi to run for Alberta NDP leaderHe confirmed he would enter the Alberta NDP leadership race. “We need a government that we can trust,” he said..Hehr, Nenshi, and Chahal could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
