Voters in a central Edmonton riding will have a new, but perhaps not unfamiliar, NDP candidate on the ballot in next year’s provincial election.
Former chair of the Edmonton Public School Board, Trisha Estabrooks, is seeking the nomination to run provincially for the Alberta NDP in the open constituency of Edmonton-Strathcona.
It comes after the party’s leader announced he’ll seek a Calgary seat in the next general vote instead of running for re-election in Edmonton.
Naheed Nenshi, who was Calgary’s mayor for 11 years from 2010 to 2021 when he did not seek re-election, announced his decision Thursday in an online letter to his constituents in Edmonton-Strathcona.
He said in the letter that he’s “thrilled every day” to serve as the member of Edmonton-Strathcona, but is making the move to represent the communities where he grew up and made much of his professional and political life.
He also said the NDP needs to win more seats in Calgary, and that he’s “happy to be part of that battle.”
Estabrooks was EPSB chair and a local trustee for schools within Edmonton-Strathcona from 2017 to 2025.
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She ran for the NDP in the spring 2025 federal election in Edmonton Centre, but lost to Liberal candidate Eleanor Olszewski.
Estabrooks currently works for Friends of Medicare, a public health-care advocacy group.
Prior to politics, she worked for the CBC for 17 years in newsrooms across the country, including Thunder Bay, Iqaluit, Whitehorse and then Edmonton.
She also spent a year in 2007 working with Journalists for Human Rights in Ghana.
Nenshi’s byelection win in Edmonton-Strathcona in June 2025 came almost a year after he won the party’s leadership race to replace former premier Rachel Notley, who also represented the Edmonton constituency.
He won the byelection with more than 82 per cent of the vote.
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“As you may know, we are in the midst of an illegitimate and corrupt process to redraw the electoral map. There will be legal challenges. Once we have a finalized (and hopefully fair!) map, I’ll announce which Calgary riding,” Nenshi wrote, referring to an ongoing review of provincial riding maps.
Nenshi has accused Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government of using the review to rig the next election.
The government has said it’s about ensuring there’s fair representation for rural areas.
Nenshi said in Thursday’s letter that he will continue to serve as representative of Edmonton-Strathcona until the next general election in October 2027.
“This will open up Edmonton-Strathcona for a new representative from this beautiful community,” he wrote.
“I am informing you today so that the incredible constituency association in this riding has time for a healthy and robust nomination process to select a candidate and a future MLA worthy of representing you.”
In 2023, Estabrooks received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for her contributions to journalism and public education.
She and her family have lived in Edmonton for two decades.
–with files from The Canadian Press
Nenshi will make ucp unheard of soon.
Calgarians remember what Nenshi did for them. Money for infrastructure gone; a big blue ring; 100% increase in property taxes; a pile of construction junk on the TransCanada. What happens to his leadership when he can’t get a seat?
I forgot the NDP even existed to be honest. Amazing they still refuse to rebrand given the state of their reputation among Albertans.
Lots of Freedumb fighters are us comments coming in.
The last thing Alberta needs is Fat Nenshi as Premier. Shudder