NDP's Rachel Notley won't trade on the memory of her iconic father

Jim Macdonald, THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON - Rachel Notley admits she's scrappy.

It's a trait that's well-suited to the political arena. And perhaps no surprise for the daughter of former NDP leader Grant Notley, who was the face of the New Democrats in Alberta for 16 years until he died in a plane crash in 1984 while returning to his riding.

"I try to be diplomatic, I do," she says with a giggle. "But there's no question at times that people think I'm being a little pushy and a little bossy and a little rude. You know you've got to be heard.

"I'm, like, five-foot-two, so there's the whole short person thing going on there," she adds, throwing her head back to laugh. "But I think I'm also a pragmatist and a realist."

Notley, 43, is also the NDP's star candidate in the campaign for the Alberta election March 3. She's running in what has been the relatively safe NDP riding of Edmonton-Strathcona, which has been held by former party leader Raj Pannu, who has decided to retire from politics.

There's no question that Notley has a political pedigree, but she has also impressed a lot of NDP veterans with her loyalty to the party and her work on social issues. She and husband Lou Arab were fixtures at last year's convention.

Arab is a top political operative who recently left his government affairs post with CUPE to rejoin the NDP election strategy team - where he has been a key player for years.

Notley says the pair's political lives can make for a lively household, especially when they disagree. "Certainly people who work closely with us have to get used to the two of us bickering, because we do on issues. But we really are on the same page on so many things. We're a really great team."

Veteran New Democrat Ray Martin counts himself a Notley fan.

He fondly remembers her trying to get her father's attention during one of his trips home to the remote northern community of Fairview after a week of working at the legislature.

"Grant was a little bit cheap and they'd always have to go through this ritual of her asking for money and him saying 'No' and her being very persistent," said Martin, who replaced Notley as NDP leader and is still a fixture at the legislature.

"He was gone a lot of the time," he said. "I think that was probably the most difficult part for the Notley family."

Martin attended the ceremony when Notley was call to the bar after she completed a law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Her legal worked eventually landed her a job in British Columbia working for Mike Harcourt's NDP government. She counts Harcourt among her political heroes.

"I thought he did a really good job of bringing about a significant amount of change in B.C. in a way that was respectful of the community," she says. "A good deal of his record remains in place to this day because it was just so darn well done."

But Notley says you can't mention NDP heroes without talking about Tommy Douglas, who led an inspired fight that resulted in the birth of medicare.

Notley recalls politics being a major part of her family life while she was growing up. There was door-knocking with her mom at election time and photo sessions with her dad.

"I remember being in a campaign photo shoot when I was about four and I was pointing up to a picture of Tommy Douglas," says Notley, who is also a mother of two young children.

But she's reluctant to include her father's name among her political heroes.

"To me, I would not say that because it sounds like I'm trying to capitalize on my name. But I loved my dad dearly and I learned a lot from him."

Notley put off entering politics for a while. The New Democrats tried to persuade her to run in 2004, but it was simply not workable with two toddlers.

But her candidacy in this election has created a bit of a buzz in both the party and on Internet chat sites.

"If Rachel has any of the qualities of her father, then she should have a good future in helping the Alberta NDP to build," says one entry on the rabble.ca discussion forum.

Current NDP Leader Brian Mason says there's no question that Notley is part of a new generation of New Democrats, who will help secure the party's future in Alberta.

"Rachel's in the age category where she's ready to step into increasingly responsible positions in our party and I have no doubt that's exactly what she'll do," he says.

There's already talk in some NDP circles about Notley one day becoming leader. Martin says she is the type of person who can renew the party, which held four seats when the election was called.

"Old war horses like me won't be around forever and so the party has to revitalize and I see Rachel as being very much part of that."

Notley concedes she needs to learn the ropes if she wins a seat in the legislature, so she's focusing on short-term goals for now.

"If I'm a newbie MLA, I'll have stuff to learn, so my short-term plan is truly show up for work and find out what our leader and more seniors MLAs think we need to do."

The other candidates running in Edmonton-Strathcona are Progressive Conservative T.J. Keil, Tim Vant of the Liberals and Adrian Cole for the Green party.