Overview
- McPherson formally kicked off her campaign in Edmonton–Strathcona, framing her bid around unity and inclusion after the NDP’s worst federal result.
- She warned a federal election could come as early as the spring and urged a shift in how the party speaks to voters, with more investment in grassroots organizing.
- She enters a field that includes activist and journalist Avi Lewis, Rob Ashton and activist Yves Engler, and her status as the lone sitting MP was reported as making her the unofficial front-runner.
- Former Alberta premier Rachel Notley endorsed McPherson at the launch, praising her listening skills and consensus-building approach.
- Her message emphasized fair wages tied to living costs, affordable housing, lower grocery prices, and strong public services, while pointing to her foreign-affairs record on Ukraine and Palestine and a stance of condemning genocide wherever it occurs.