Fourteen United Conservative Party members of the Alberta legislature, including seven cabinet ministers, are now facing recall petitions after Elections Alberta approved five more petitions on Nov. 25.
The latest UCP caucus members to face recall petitions include Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf, Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton, and MLAs Glenn Van Dijken, Jackie Lovely, and Jason Stephan, according to Elections Alberta. The approvals bring the total number of UCP MLAs facing recall to nearly a third of the party’s caucus, amid a wave of challenges that began late last month.
The province earlier this year introduced changes to the Recall Act intended to “make it easier for Albertans to hold elected officials accountable.” The amendments lowered the signature threshold and extended the timeframe for collecting signatures.
In response to the recall petition, Neudorf said he supports the democratic mechanism but suggested the policy is not being used for its intended purpose.
“I respect the democratic process and the right of constituents to hold elected officials accountable,” he said in a Nov. 18 statement released by Elections Alberta. “However, recall legislation was designed for cases of serious misconduct, not policy disagreements.”
He added that he has “consistently worked to represent Lethbridge-East with integrity,” and that “weaponizing recall for ideological purposes undermines stability and constructive governance.”
The petitioner for Neudorf’s recall, Ryan Tanner, said in the notice of petition provided to Elections Alberta that “recent voting activity” from the MLA “demonstrates a disconnect and his inability to meet the needs, desires, and expectations of those he represents.”
The applicant didn’t specify which votes he was referring to. Several petitioners seeking the recall of other legislature members, including Ministers Nally and Sigurdson, cited their MLAs’ support for the legislation that ended the recent teachers’ strike last month as one of the reasons for the recall.
Some recall petitioners say they believe their MLAs are not adequately representing their constituents and, in some cases, have not been reachable.
Other ministers facing recall petitions include Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally, Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Indigenous Relations Rajan Sawhney, and Minister of Advanced Education Myles McDougall.
Alberta Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has said it is “no surprise” that a large number of UCP caucus members are facing recall petitions.
“I don’t know how successful these petitions will be, but certainly they are incredibly destabilizing,” Nenshi said in a video posted on Nov. 25. “They show that we’ve got a government that has lost all grip on reality and is completely out of touch with its citizens.”
Premier Danielle Smith has said she believes the recall legislation is not being used appropriately, noting that it is intended to address serious breaches of public trust.
“As the members who are organizing the recall campaigns were calling to overthrow the government, I can tell you that that kind of language does not say to me that they’re engaging in the recall process in good faith,” Smith said at the legislature on Nov. 5.
The recall legislation is “not meant to overthrow and topple governments mid-term,” she added.
Smith was likely referring to comments made on Oct. 29 by Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, in response to the province’s legislation sending teachers back to work, a move he described as an attack on “teachers, public education and our democratic rights.” McGowan said Alberta’s public sector unions would begin to “mobilize around recall campaigns” and explore the possibility of a general strike.
“Over the coming weeks and months, every one of the common front unions will begin the process of talking to their members about our new priority, which is to protect our rights and our democracy by toppling this government,” McGowan said.
“Every one of those unions will begin the process of engaging its members around things like recall and initiative campaigns,” he added.
Smith has said her government is looking at changes to the recall rules, pointing to issues such as online fundraising for recall campaigns, which the current legislation does not allow.
Recall petitioners have 90 days to gather signatures equal to at least 60 percent of the total votes cast in the most recent election in that riding.
