Joe Ceci, longtime Calgary councillor and NDP MLA, retiring from politics
After 15 years on city council and three terms in the Alberta legislature, Joe Ceci will not seek re-election this fall.
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Joe Ceci, one of Alberta's most recognizable NDPers and a fixture on Calgary city council for 15 years, will not run in the provincial election this fall, bringing an end to his three-term tenure in the legislature.
Ceci served as finance minister under Rachel Notley from 2015 to 2019, guiding the province through a devastating oil downturn that produced a $10.3-billion deficit. Rather than implement deep spending cuts to public services, Ceci steered the NDP government toward maintaining support for Albertans during the economic crisis — a choice that drew heavy criticism but reflected his values.
During his time in cabinet, Ceci championed Alberta's minimum wage increase and boosted funding for family and community support services. "I don't regret anything that we did," Ceci said in an interview. "He was doing it throughout that whole time with his values driving his decisions rather than short-term political gain," Notley said of her former finance minister.
Before entering provincial politics, Ceci worked in social work and poverty reduction after a career picking tobacco in southern Ontario. His broad appeal — Notley described him as naturally kind and affable — helped rally candidates during the NDP's historic 2015 landslide victory. In his Calgary riding, he took more votes than the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative candidates combined.
Despite the NDP's defeat in 2019, Ceci held his seat for two additional terms, one of the few orange members to survive the UCP sweep.