A New Premier – The Old, The New, and the Surprises

It has been about one week since Premier Danielle Smith’s new cabinet team was sworn-in by Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani at Government House in Edmonton.  This government is no stranger to shuffles as Jason Kenney had made a number of small changes throughout his time as premier, but this is by far the most significant restructuring of the province’s leadership team (as to be expected with a new premier).

“I am thrilled to be working with this strong, determined, united group of MLAs. Alberta’s future is bright – but there’s a lot of work to be done. Our team will work every day to gain your trust, make bold changes and continue to build the most innovative, entrepreneurial and welcoming province in the world.” - Premier Danielle Smith

• Deputy Premier and Minister of Skilled Trades and Professions – Kaycee Madu

• Deputy Premier and Minister of Infrastructure – Nathan Neudorf

• President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance – Travis Toews

• Minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development – Brian Jean

• Minister of Justice – Tyler Shandro

• Minister of Health – Jason Copping

• Minister of Energy – Pete Guthrie

• Minister of Environment and Protected Areas – Sonya Savage

• Minister of Technology and Innovation – Nate Glubish

• Minister of Affordability and Utilities – Matt Jones

• Minister of Municipal Affairs – Rebecca Schulz

• Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors – Devin Dreeshen

• Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services – Mike Ellis

• Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation – Nate Horner

• Minister of Forestry, Parks and Tourism – Todd Loewen

• Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism – Rajan Sawhney

• Minister of Education – Adriana LaGrange

• Minister of Advanced Education – Demetrios Nicolaides

• Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction – Dale Nally

• Minister of Indigenous Relations – Rick Wilson

• Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services – Jeremy Nixon

• Minister of Children’s Services – Mickey Amery

• Minister of Mental Health and Addiction – Nicholas Milliken

• Minister of Culture – Jason Luan

In addition to the above, MLA Brad Rutherford will serve as the whip and MLA Joseph Schow will become the new house leader (both are also ministers without portfolio). The deputy house leaders are Kaycee Madu, Mickey Amery, and David Hanson.

While there are a number of parliamentary secretaries and government committee chairs to reference, we will focus our time in this article on cabinet.

Notable Appointments

Right at the top, we see two new names rise to new heights. Ministers Kayce Madu and Nathan Neudorf have been appointed as deputies to Premier Smith in the Legislature. Throughout the leadership race, Madu had been a devout supporter of Smith’s vision for her premiership and subsequently endorsed her publicly. Despite the controversy he has stirred throughout this term, he finds himself higher up the rankings than he has ever been before.

With that said, both Madu and Neudorf are representatives of ridings that are at risk of flipping to the NDP in the next election, so there may be an element of protectionism behind this decision as well.

All but one of the leadership candidates find themselves sitting at the cabinet table. It is somewhat surprising to see Rebecca Schulz at the helm of municipal affairs rather than Ric McIver or a new face like Searle Turton. While she is a very competent minister, it would have made a lot of sense for her to remain in Children’s Services for the remainder of the term. It is much less surprising to find Travis Toews back in finance.

Todd Loewen has seen a significant promotion – working his way from an independent seat to being welcomed back into the UCP Caucus and appointed as a minister. Brian Jean will also serve in cabinet for the first time and become the lead for northern development in Alberta. Finally, Rajan Sawhney will take on her third ministry since being elected in 2019.

It is also interesting to note that Devin Dreeshen is once again in cabinet, albeit in a different capacity. One year ago, the former agriculture minister resigned from his post in an effort to focus on his personal health and wellness following allegations of harassment from former staffer Ariella Kimmel.

A Restructured Team

It was not just new faces in new places that makes this cabinet change significant. In addition to new ministers, we have new and restructured ministries.

·         Skilled Trades and Professions

·         Technology and Innovation

·         Affordability and Utilities

·         Public Safety and Emergency Services

·         Jobs, Economy and Northern Development

·         Forestry, Parks and Tourism

·         Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism

·         Seniors, Community and Social Services

A couple of important points to note with this restructuring – while there is no ministry dedicated to labour in name, that responsibility will fall to Minister Jean in Jobs, Economy and Northern Development. In a similar vain, the housing portfolio will be managed by Minister Jeromy Nixon in Seniors, Community and Social Services.

The Status of Women will no longer be managed by a minister nor associate minister – it will instead be handled by parliamentary secretary Tanya Fir.

Notable Omissions

During the UCP leadership race, Premier Smith had told Albertans that they shouldn’t be surprised to see a number of her leadership competitors at the cabinet table should she win the race. Ultimately, only former minister Leela Aheer found herself on the outside looking in. Throughout the race, she had been critical of Smith’s proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act and was outspoken about a number of her party’s missteps throughout the term. Since cabinet was announced, she has indicated she will not seek re-election with the UCP but fell short of announcing she would not be seeking re-election.

Kenney’s former right-hand man also finds himself on the backbench under Premier Smith. Jason Nixon had served in two ministries under the former premier and was also the government house leader. He had been publicly opposed to Smith during the leadership race while Smith was also critical of how his riding’s nomination contest was handled.

Ric McIver, Prasad Panda, Ron Orr, and Whitney Issik also will no longer have a seat at the cabinet table. McIver has served as a minister and critic in every administration since he was first elected, so it is surprising to find him out of cabinet. However, there is potential this group is being put on the backbench so they can focus their time and resources on seeking re-election in competitive ridings in 2023.