Murray Wood: It's getting better all the time
Even if it seems - as the rejoinder in the Beatles' song observed - 'it couldn't get much worse,' Murray Wood suggests w...
EDMONTON — Hobbled by more than just low oil prices, Alberta’s NDP finance minister limped into the legislature in a cast to deliver a devastating budget.
It was 2017, and Joe Ceci had injured his leg competing for face time with a busy premier on an early morning jog.
He was Rachel Notley’s right hand man in cabinet, and the only New Democrat finance minister in the history of the province.
“He ran himself into almost snapping his Achilles, which to be clear, most people never recover from,” Notley said.
In order to be the first to tackle the issues of the day with her, Ceci had to push himself to keep up.
That March, the NDP government was projecting a $10.3-billion deficit, dragged down by the price of oil, the commodity that drives the province’s finances.
After three terms in the legislature and a 15-year run as a Calgary city councillor, Ceci won’t be seeking re-election next fall.
Notley said Ceci’s job as finance minister wasn’t easy, but he steered clear of deep spending cuts to public services, and he took a lot of criticism.
“He was doing it throughout that whole time with his values driving his decisions rather than short-term political gain,” said Notley.
“He didn’t have anything to do with the price of oil.”
Ceci said the NDP government was committed to shouldering the cost and supporting Albertans during the downturn.
“I don’t regret anything that we did,” he said in an interview.
During Ceci’s tenure, Alberta raised its minimum wage and boosted funding for family and community support services — two policies that largely survived the summer spree of repeal from Alberta’s next government.
Sarah Hoffman, who also served in Notley’s cabinet, said even while the economy was struggling, Ceci was driven to reduce the number of people living in poverty.
“It was about what brought him to where he was, and what he could do for people who were starting out and needed a little bit of help.”
He went from picking tobacco in southern Ontario to social work in Calgary before entering politics.
After his career on city council, he was working on poverty reduction initiatives when Notley knocked on his door. He recalls her saying, “I don’t think you’re done in politics yet, are you?”
Ceci said he had been considering running as an Independent candidate, but Notley convinced him the NDP could win.
What followed was a landslide for the NDP in 2015 that ended a decades-long Progressive Conservative dynasty in Alberta.
“And I’ve been an NDPer ever since,” Ceci said.
Ceci, with his recognizable tooth-gap grin, was a tent pole candidate for the party.
Hoffman said when he agreed to run, it helped recruit other candidates who were hesitant.
“They wanted to be on the same team as Joe,” said Hoffman.
“Joe was on city council, and he was fighting for working class people, and they wanted to be a part of that.”
He was a big part of building the orange wave in 2015, she said.
Notley described him as naturally kind, affable and easy going.
“He likes people, so people like him,” said Notley.
The 2015 election saw votes spread across more than one right wing party. The results helped inspire Alberta’s conservatives to coalesce under the now-governing United Conservative Party.
But in his Calgary riding, Ceci took more votes than the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative candidates combined.
And, despite Albertans casting the NDP out of office in 2019, Ceci held onto his seat for two more terms.
Until the UCP took over, Ceci had posted what was the largest deficit in the province’s history.
The election of Jason Kenney’s UCP in 2019 kicked off a “summer of repeal,” in which many of the NDP’s flagship policies were relegated to the dustbin.
Eventually, the NDP’s 12 per cent corporate tax rate would be whittled to eight per cent.
Now, with his wife Christine recently retired, Ceci said he wants to spend time with her.
She has long been tied to his political fortunes, managing many of his election campaigns.
Hoffman remembers Ceci wearing a corsage the day he was sworn into office at the legislature.
It happened to be his wedding anniversary, she learned.
Hoffman said in his post-political life, you’ll probably find Ceci on the dance floor at an off-beat show somewhere in Calgary.
“He’s the kind of dancer who doesn’t care who’s watching,” she said.
“And that, to me, is a good dancer.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2026.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
