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Alberta premier ditches Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh on the campaign trail

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says she hasn't campaigned with the federal party leader – Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh - because her focus is on what's best for the province — including pipelines.
rachel notley
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley makes a campaign stop in Calgary, Alta., Friday, April 12, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says she hasn't campaigned with the federal party leader – Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh - because her focus is on what's best for the province — including pipelines.

That, of course, runs counter to what Singh says because he’s opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline that terminates in Burnaby at the Westridge marine terminal. Notley has waged a campaign against B.C. over the Trans Mountain project, staking her political future on getting the project done.

During a campaign stop in Calgary, Notley was asked about a Thursday rally with federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Alberta United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney.

They attacked what they call the "Notley-Trudeau alliance."

Notley said the Kenney-Scheer rally makes her wonder if Kenney is even interested in standing up for Albertans.

She questioned whether he's trying to get back into the ring in Ottawa for his own political purposes.

Notley said her job is to stand up for the people of Alberta rather than align with federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

"As you know, I don't necessarily agree with the leader of our federal party as far as how that connects with the matter of pipelines," she said. "So, no, we are not going to campaign together because we have two very different opinions on the issue."

Then again, considering that Notley's party is far behind in the polls, maybe it's good that Singh stays away from Notley.

  • With files from the Canadian Press