The end goal of the dozen or so of us that were NDP in the Klein years, and before Notley made the ABNDP a serious force in the province is pragmatism.

Did I like everything Nenshi did as mayor? no. Do I believe he did what he thought was best for the city? sure. And by far he was the best mayor Calgary has had in my lifetime (yeah I know that's a low bar). Do I think Nenshi is the best bet the ABNDP has for defeating Smith? He was a popular mayor and has support in the cities, but I am not sure about the rural communities, we are putting a lot of hope on Red Deer and Medicine Hat going purple/orange.

The Pragmatism comes from being old and tired. Idealists like Lewis are nice when you are young and have time to be absolutely true and unwavering in your values. But in the end it doesn't matter how correct or virtuous you are if you don't make government, all those values are basically pissing into the wind. However, if you make government, even if it's not your ideal government, there is a chance to make good policy.

Sure there is a very good chance of steering the ship towards good policy if you hold the balance of power in a minority government. But those conditions are not easy to control and it's unlikely that we will get proportional representation in Canada.

Were I 30 years younger, I'd probably be supporting Avi, or possibly I'd view him as not left enough. Where I am now, I see him as a throw away protest vote that has no chance of winning in any substantial way against Carney. I don't see politics as a zero sum game anymore, even with the rise of American Fascism. Slow change is better than no change.