Alberta NDP leadership candidate Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse said while she originally was not going to run for the position, people convinced her it was her time. “I went to ceremony and prayed about it and listened to the elders and here we are in a leadership race,” said Calahoo Stonehouse in a Monday interview with the Western Standard. Protocol refers to the ways of interacting with indigenous people in a manner of respecting traditional ways of being.After Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley stepped down, Stonehouse said her cellphone started to go off the hook. It was elders across Alberta who she had studied under, chiefs she worked for and young people she coached saying it was her time. Her parents recommended she rethink her decision, which she did, motivating her to enter the NDP leadership race. Former NDP MLA Richard Feehan (Edmonton-Rutherford) saw her in negotiations and kept nudging her for years about running in provincial politics. She kept saying no thank you, but he remained persistent. When it came time to make a decision, she brought protocol and went to ceremony. After she brought protocol, she started doorknocking. As she doorknocked, she said she fell in love with her constituents. She added it “was the magic of the people that brought me here.” While she won her seat in Edmonton-Rutherford, she said she believes the NDP lost because it did not focus enough on rural areas. She admitted it needed to repair relationships. In her time as executive director at Yellowhead Indigenous Education Foundation, she helped to create a land-based school called Blossoming Flower. Blossoming Flower focuses on different ways of understanding the world rooted in sustainability. This experience taught her about curriculum development and ensuring children thrive in Alberta. After water, she said children are among Alberta’s most precious resources. She is working on her master’s degree in resource economics with a specialty on water security at the University of Alberta. While she was looking at ecosystems, biodiversity and the impacts on the land, she said it prepared her for understanding water protection during resource extraction. She said there is no reason for Alberta not to do better on this front. With record profits, that means it can do record spending in doing better. If the Alberta NDP wants to decouple from the federal party, she said it has to be decided by the membership, as it is a huge decision. Although it has to be a collective decision and will take time, she vowed to support what the members want to do. She said Alberta needs to enact a water policy. Upon being elected premier, she said she would look at the corporate structure of accessing water. Another issue she has with water is the structure related to releasing it. If people look at the oilsands and tailing ponds, she said it is unacceptable Alberta does not have a strategy for decontaminating the water. While some of the other leadership candidates have been in provincial politics longer, she said that is OK and is ready to take them on. She said she is humbled to be competing against the other candidates. However, they have had their time. Calahoo Stonehouse concluded by saying it “is really important that people vote for the person who is going to lead the party in the right direction.” “We have to support and endorse people we believe are going to make the most positive change for Albertans,” she said. “And I believe I’m that person.” Calahoo Stonehouse announced on February 24 she was running to become the next Alberta NDP leader. READ MORE: WATCH: Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse enters Alberta NDP leadership race“As a First Nations woman, I come from a value system where no one gets left behind and there is room for every one in the circle,” she said. “I believe that as a party, we are stronger together, unified working together, to work alongside Albertans to build the strongest Alberta possible.”
Alberta NDP leadership candidate Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse said while she originally was not going to run for the position, people convinced her it was her time. “I went to ceremony and prayed about it and listened to the elders and here we are in a leadership race,” said Calahoo Stonehouse in a Monday interview with the Western Standard. Protocol refers to the ways of interacting with indigenous people in a manner of respecting traditional ways of being.After Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley stepped down, Stonehouse said her cellphone started to go off the hook. It was elders across Alberta who she had studied under, chiefs she worked for and young people she coached saying it was her time. Her parents recommended she rethink her decision, which she did, motivating her to enter the NDP leadership race. Former NDP MLA Richard Feehan (Edmonton-Rutherford) saw her in negotiations and kept nudging her for years about running in provincial politics. She kept saying no thank you, but he remained persistent. When it came time to make a decision, she brought protocol and went to ceremony. After she brought protocol, she started doorknocking. As she doorknocked, she said she fell in love with her constituents. She added it “was the magic of the people that brought me here.” While she won her seat in Edmonton-Rutherford, she said she believes the NDP lost because it did not focus enough on rural areas. She admitted it needed to repair relationships. In her time as executive director at Yellowhead Indigenous Education Foundation, she helped to create a land-based school called Blossoming Flower. Blossoming Flower focuses on different ways of understanding the world rooted in sustainability. This experience taught her about curriculum development and ensuring children thrive in Alberta. After water, she said children are among Alberta’s most precious resources. She is working on her master’s degree in resource economics with a specialty on water security at the University of Alberta. While she was looking at ecosystems, biodiversity and the impacts on the land, she said it prepared her for understanding water protection during resource extraction. She said there is no reason for Alberta not to do better on this front. With record profits, that means it can do record spending in doing better. If the Alberta NDP wants to decouple from the federal party, she said it has to be decided by the membership, as it is a huge decision. Although it has to be a collective decision and will take time, she vowed to support what the members want to do. She said Alberta needs to enact a water policy. Upon being elected premier, she said she would look at the corporate structure of accessing water. Another issue she has with water is the structure related to releasing it. If people look at the oilsands and tailing ponds, she said it is unacceptable Alberta does not have a strategy for decontaminating the water. While some of the other leadership candidates have been in provincial politics longer, she said that is OK and is ready to take them on. She said she is humbled to be competing against the other candidates. However, they have had their time. Calahoo Stonehouse concluded by saying it “is really important that people vote for the person who is going to lead the party in the right direction.” “We have to support and endorse people we believe are going to make the most positive change for Albertans,” she said. “And I believe I’m that person.” Calahoo Stonehouse announced on February 24 she was running to become the next Alberta NDP leader. READ MORE: WATCH: Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse enters Alberta NDP leadership race“As a First Nations woman, I come from a value system where no one gets left behind and there is room for every one in the circle,” she said. “I believe that as a party, we are stronger together, unified working together, to work alongside Albertans to build the strongest Alberta possible.”
