At a Glance: April 4 - April 14

Danielle Smith Seeks UCP Nomination

Former Wildrose leader and outspoken opponent of Premier Jason Kenney has announced her return to provincial politics. Smith announced she will be running in the Livingstone—Macleod nomination against incumbent Roger Reid. Smith made Reid aware of her intentions and he responded publicly stating “it has been the privilege of a lifetime to represent the people of Livingstone-Macleod in the Legislature for the last three years and I look forward to a rigorous nomination process in the coming months.” Smith won’t just stop at the nomination; she has her eyes set on the Premier’s job.

Both Brian Jean and Danielle Smith are past leaders of the Wildrose, and they have both made their intentions clear - they want another shot at becoming premier. Smith and Jean have both stated they plan to vote against Kenney in the leadership review and both intend to run in a leadership race. Both have already begun fundraising and campaigning. Meanwhile, Premier Kenney received a letter from 19 former MLAs saying they support him and his leadership. The results of the leadership review should be available by May 18, 2022.

Brian Jean is Back

Brian Jean is back again. Jean has a long history in Canadian politics. He was first elected in 2004 as Member of Parliament for Fort McMurray—Athabasca and remained in office until 2014 when he stepped down to “return to his private life” in Fort McMurray. Almost immediately after stepping down as Member of Parliament, Jean ran for leader of the Wildrose Alliance Party (WAP) and he was elected leader on March 28, 2015. Two months after Jean was elected leader, the 2015 provincial election saw him representing Fort McMurray-Conklin as MLA.

In 2017 the WAP merged with the Progressive Conservative (PC) party led by Jason Kenney. After a fierce leadership race, Kenney was elected as leader of the newly formed United Conservative Party (UCP). After the two parties merged, Jean once again resigned from public office in 2018, citing a desire to spend more time with family. Once again, only a short time later, Brian Jean announced yet another return to politics. On March 12, 2022, Jean won the election to represent Fort McMurray—Lac La Biche and was once again sworn into the Legislature on April 7, 2022. Jean has been clear that he intends to replace Kenney as leader of the UCP.

Alberta Prosecutors Threaten Strike

Justice Minister Tyler Shandro has agreed to meet with the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association (ACAA) after association members threatened to consider strike action. The ACAA has accused the province of chronically underfunding the association leading to a “crisis in the justice system”. In a letter addressed to Premier Jason Kenney, the ACAA stated that their “obligations to our profession and to the public mean we must do what is necessary to protect the long-term viability of the justice system in this province.”

The ACAA describes the seriousness of the situation stating that chronic understaffing and a lack of experienced prosecutors is putting cases at risk of being dropped or pled down. ACAA president Dallas Sopko told CTV News Edmonton “there's almost 2,000 cases of serious and violent offences that are at risk. This includes everything from homicides, aggravated assaults, robberies, home invasions,” adding "we feel like we've been neglected now for years and years, and it's really coming to a breaking point with our members. We've held on as long as we could for each other and for Albertans, but it's not sustainable." Minister Shandro agreed to meet with the association Thursday but did not mention if the province would be moving to meet the Association’s demands.

Alberta Tourist Towns Struggle with Staff Shortages

Despite COVID-19 restrictions easing in Canada and across the world, Alberta’s tourist towns are struggling to attract international workers. Consequently, internationally recognized tourist towns like Banff and Canmore are suffering from staff shortages. Prior to public health restrictions, the Job Resource Centre, which operates in Banff and Canmore, would see 50 to 100 clients every day, Now, they are struggling to reach 10 clients per day.

Prior to the pandemic, roughly half of Banff and Canmore’s workforce was made up of foreign workers. Those in the hospitality service are urging the government to expedite the process to get foreign workers into the country stating that it can take between 12 to 18 months for a foreign worker to arrive in the country after they’re selected by an employer. Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada shows they have a backlog of hundreds of thousands of temporary residence applications. President of the Banff and Lake Louise Hospitality Association told reporters “we're coming out of the pandemic calling it a time for economic recovery. But if we don't have the staff, we're going to have a tough time recovering."