Notley says her candidates are experienced enough to govern Alberta

CALGARY – Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says voters shouldn’t worry about a lack of experience if her party wins the provincial election.

The New Democrats are running a full slate of 87 candidates, including some university students. There are four incumbents.

In the last federal election, the NDP under the late Jack Layton broke through in Quebec and secured enough seats to form the official Opposition. But the party was criticized for running inexperienced paper candidates who suddenly found themselves in Parliament. One candidate hadn’t been in the riding during the election campaign.

Notley has already acknowledged that some of her candidates are nominated both federally and provincially, but she is assuring that they will serve as members of the Alberta legislature if the NDP is victorious on Tuesday.

Notley says her candidates reflect Alberta’s citizens and she is confident there are plenty of “leadership-type” people who could serve in her cabinet.

“I’m very confident in the team of candidates that we have running for us. I believe we are reflective of Alberta. Albertans will see themselves reflected in the NDP caucus,” Notley said Thursday after a meeting with Calgary’s mayor.

She suggested youth is a good thing, especially in Alberta, which she said has the youngest demographic in the country. Other parties in the election also have university students carrying their banner, she pointed out.

“I think university is a good thing and I think youth is a good thing,” she said. “The idea that people might be a little bit young and somehow that equates to them not being good representatives is not a terribly helpful idea.”

The NDP’s candidates are from all walks of life and would represent Alberta well, Notley added.

The NDP isn’t the only party with a number of fresh faces.

Wildrose Leader Brian Jean inherited a party that lost much of its bench strength when 11 of its legislature members, including leader Danielle Smith, crossed the floor late last year to sit with the governing Progressive Conservatives.

Jean, who has painted the PCs and NDP as part of a “coalition for higher taxes,” said he has met with all his candidates several times and there are a lot of qualified people for a cabinet.

“You’ll find economics professors. You’ll find lawyers. You’ll find many professional people who have a true passion for Alberta,” he Jean.

“We have very high-qualified candidates right across the province.”

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