Naheed Nenshi becomes latest UCalgary alum to lead major political party

With a landslide victory in Saturday’s Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) leadership vote, Naheed Nenshi, BComm’93, became the latest in a long line of University of Calgary alumni to lead a major political party.

The former City of Calgary mayor and Students’ Union president received around 86 per cent of the NDP membership vote on the first ballot, or 62,746 votes. University of Calgary alumna Kathleen Ganley, BSc’01, BA’08, JD’11, finished second on the ballot, receiving 5,899 votes.

He will now serve as the leader of the Official Opposition to the Alberta United Conservative Party, led by fellow alum and former classmate Danielle Smith, BA’97.

With his election to the leadership, Nenshi becomes the third UCalgary alumni currently leading a provincial or national political party, joining Smith and Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre, BA’08.

Nenshi spent five years on campus, four earning his degree and then serving as Students’ Union president for a year.

“In addition to being a former mayor of Calgary, Naheed Nenshi was also president of our very own Students’ Union in the academic year 1993-1994,” says Ermia Rezaei-Afsah, current SU president.

“We are always excited to see our alumni succeed, using skills they learned here. We congratulate him on becoming the new leader of the Alberta NDP and we are looking forward to working with him and his team to find ways to support students at the University of Calgary.”

Following his time at UCalgary, he earned a Master of Public Policy Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he studied as a Kennedy Fellow.

Nenshi served as Canada’s first tenured professor of nonprofit management at the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University.

In 2010, he was elected mayor of Calgary. Nenshi served three terms in the role, guiding the city through major events such as the 2013 flood and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nenshi has stayed well connected to the university, even hosting a rally on campus shortly after announcing his bid for the leadership. He is also attuned to the importance of the post-secondary sector in Calgary.

“I understand the economic, social and cultural importance of having two powerful universities and a powerful tech school all in the city of Calgary,” Nenshi told The Gauntlet in March.