FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 11, 2024
EDMONTON – Alberta NDP leadership candidate Gil McGowan says his support from the Alberta Federation of Labour is an important step in his plan to build the winning coalition that will defeat Danielle Smith’s UCP in 2027.
McGowan’s endorsement was made in a vote of the AFL’s executive council, held late Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m both excited and humbled at this endorsement. This is an important step in my plan to add the missing piece to a winning NDP coalition, the support of ordinary working Albertans,” said McGowan.
“In 2023 we lost because we didn’t attract enough support from working class Albertans. This endorsement shows I have that support and it’s a big step on the path to defeating the UCP in 2027.”
Multiple polls show the Alberta NDP won among voters with a university degree or consider themselves middle class. But among voters with high school, college or trades education and those who consider themselves working class, the UCP beat the NDP handily.
McGowan’s campaign argues that ordinary working Albertans will move to the NDP with a campaign and strategy focused on wage growth, reducing costs for working families and pivoting the Alberta economy in a changing world.
On Monday, McGowan released a policy to transform the NDP into the party of wage growth in contrast with Alberta’s falling wage advantage under the UCP.
McGowan has also vowed to use Biden- and Lougheed-style industrial policy to bring new investment and industries to Alberta and protect opportunities for Alberta workers through changing times.
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