Heather McPherson is running to become the new leader of the federal NDP. She is shown during an interview in Lethbridge on Jan. 20, 2026. (Image Credit: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Heather McPherson seeking to become Alberta’s first federal NDP leader

Jan 20, 2026 | 10:56 AM

A candidate in the federal NDP leadership race believes that she has what it takes to restore the party’s strength.

Heather McPherson has been the MP for Edmonton-Strathcona since 2019 as a member of the New Democrats.

Prior to her political career, she worked for nearly 20 years in the non-profit sector in fields such as human rights, sustainable development, and global justice.

The NDP lost its official party status in the 2025 election, falling from 25 seats to just seven. This led to the immediate resignation of former leader Jagmeet Singh after the results were announced.

Since then, the NDP has been searching for its new party leader.

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Following a campaign stop in Lethbridge this week, McPherson told Lethbridge News Now that she has a plan to rebuild the party and restore its relevance.

“I think we need to have somebody who has been elected, who knows how to win, who has been doing the work of rebuilding the party, and who has the experience and the skill to take this party and rebuild it. And I think I’m that person. I think I have those skills,” says McPherson.

She says she has beaten Conservative candidates in all three elections she has been a part of, and having won 47 per cent of the votes in 2025, claims to have the NDP’s strongest seat in the country.

McPherson explains that, with Donald Trump returning to power in the United States and Mark Carney replacing Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and Prime Minister, a surge of support for the Liberals was inevitable. The “wave election,” as she called it, meant that other parties, like the NDP, were doomed to suffer at least a bit.

Although the Bloc Québécois and Greens did lose seats in the 2025 election, the Conservatives gained 24 seats, and the Liberals grew by 17.

McPherson believes that the NDP’s recent problems also came from within.

“I also think we didn’t talk to Canadians,” admits McPherson. “The thing that we did wrong is we didn’t talk to Canadians about the things that mattered most to them. You know, I love and I hate this about the New Democrats – we want to fix all the things, but we’ve got to be disciplined, and we’ve got to be focused.

She tells LNN that some of the biggest priorities of Canadians are healthcare wait times and capacity, housing affordability, and the cost of living.

She plans to address the housing crisis by declaring a housing emergency, getting corporate investments out of the sector, and creating more supportive housing.

McPherson believes that one way of tackling affordability is to remove the GST on essential items, while also creating a mandatory Grocery Code of Conduct that goes further than what has been introduced by the Liberals.

Expanding Canada’s national pharmacare program, she says, continues to be a major priority for the NDP.

If McPherson were to secure the NDP leadership, she would be the first person from Alberta to hold that position.

She believes that having a major party leader from Alberta would help to quell some of the separatist sentiments that have been growing in the province.

“I also think at this moment in time when Danielle Smith is is flirting with separatism, is taking, you know, a page from Donald Trump’s book, and is allowing foreign interference in our democracy, I think having a strong voice from Alberta that can talk about what it means to be Albertan, you know, pushing the things that are important for Albertans, but also saying how I am a proud Canadian, and that you can be both,” says McPherson.

Six people are running for the NDP leadership. You can learn more about all of the candidates here.

To vote for a leadership contestant, Canadians must purchase or renew an NDP membership by Jan. 28, 2026.

The party plans to select its new leader at the NDP Convention, which is set for March 27-29.