daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics and Elections

UCP MLAs treat Forever Canadian’s Thomas Lukaszuk like a hostile witness

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 21, 2026

Before Glubish’s motion and the UCP’s pre-mature press release, MLAs on the committee heard from former Progressive Conservative MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, who headed last year’s successful Forever Canadian citizen initiative petition.

The UCP MLAs on the committee aggressively questioned Lukaszuk as if he were a hostile witness. It was strange to watch.

Lukaszuk’s petition, which asked the question “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?” collected the signatures of more than 456,000 Albertans. But Lukaszuk and his legion of pro-Canada of volunteers clashed with the growing separatist-wing of the UCP.

What a gong show! MLA committee chaos crashes UCP separation referendum motion

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 20, 2026

Leduc-Beaumont UCP MLA and and Special Citizen Initiative Proposal Review Committee chair Brandon Lunty (screenshot from assembly.ab.ca)

Trigger-happy UCP misfires with Mission Accomplished press release

Brandon Lunty looked like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin when he found out that the United Conservative Party Caucus sent out a press release announcing the adoption of a motion that hadn’t even been voted on yet.

As chair of the Special Citizen Initiative Proposal Review Committee, Leduc-Beaumont UCP MLA Lunty had one job today: to steer a motion through the committee to recommend the adoption of a referendum question on Alberta separation from Canada.

Alberta Politics

Look who’s running in Alberta’s next provincial election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 20, 2026

Alberta Legislature Building (source: Dave Cournoyer / 2011)

Longtime Daveberta readers will be familiar with my lists tracking party nomination and election candidates ahead of elections in Alberta.

I had planned to launch the list of candidates for the next provincial election when the Electoral Boundaries Commission final report was supposed to have been adopted this spring but, with the United Conservative Party tossing out the commission’s final report and appointing its own MLA committee to redraw the new riding map, I’ve decided not to wait.

Visit the Daveberta Substack to see the full list of candidates running in Alberta’s next provincial election

Tags Advantage Party of Alberta, Alberta Election 2027, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Independence Party, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Danielle Smith, Green Party of Alberta, Naheed Nenshi, Progressive Tory Party of Alberta, United Conservative Party, Wildrose Independence Party

Alberta Politics

NDP MLA Janis Irwin running for re-election in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 20, 2026

Alberta NDP MLA Janis Irwin accepts her party's nomination for re-election in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (source: Janis Irwin / Facebook)

Popular MLA Janis Irwin is running for re-election and was nominated as the Alberta NDP candidate in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood on May 3. The second-term MLA is the NDP’s housing critic and is a crowd favourite among Daveberta readers who for six years in a row have voted her Alberta’s Best MLA.

Irwin was first elected in the central Edmonton NDP stronghold in 2019 and was re-elected in 2023 with 71.4 per cent of the vote. Parts of the Highlands-Norwood riding in its various configurations over the decades have been represented by NDP MLAs in all but four years since 1982.

Alberta cabinet shuffle rumoured soon – Nate Horner to be replaced by Jason Nixon

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 19, 2026

With the Legislative spring session ended, there is plenty of speculation that a major cabinet shuffle could happen this week. The changes in this shuffle are expected to reflect which ministers are planning to run for re-election in 2027, with retiring ministers leaving cabinet or moving to more junior positions and MLAs running for re-election appointed to more senior roles.

One of the biggest rumours that has been circulating for weeks is that Nate Horner will step down as Minister of Finance and be replaced by Jason Nixon, who currently serves as Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services.

Calgary-Shaw by-election race heats up as Rebecca Schulz expected to resign any day now

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 19, 2026

Calgary City Councillor Dan McLean announces his candidacy for the UCP nomination in Calgary-Shaw (source: Dan McLean / Facebook)

City Councillor Dan McLean, Mike Derry, and Stewart Jeanes running for UCP nomination

It was one of the worst kept secrets in Calgary political circles that City Councillor Dan McLean was planning to jump into provincial politics and he is now running for United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Shaw.

The southwest Calgary riding is expected to become vacant when UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz, who resigned from cabinet last December, steps down as an MLA. Schulz delivered a farewell statement in the Legislature last week and shared a video on social media thanking voters in the riding for choosing her to represent them for the past seven years.

Elected officials should be coming out and voicing our commitment to Canada and to Confederation, says Michael Janz

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 18, 2026

Thomas Lukaszuk speaks with reporters about the Forever Canadian Avenue proposal with supporters and the Alberta Legislature Building in the background (source: Dave Cournoyer)

Michael Janz’s Forever Canadian Avenue announcement comes just days after a judge quashed Elections Alberta’s approval of a citizen initiative petition organized by separatist leaders with deep ties to the governing United Conservative Party.

Premier Danielle Smith called the judge’s ruling antidemocratic and declared her government would appeal the decision as separatist leaders publicly threatened her leadership of the party if she didn’t intervene. While a large majority of Albertans support remaining in Canada, a majority of UCP voters tell pollsters they would vote for Alberta to separate from Canada if a referendum is held.

Won’t a new pipeline make the Alberta separatists happy?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 17, 2026

Smith used the threat of national unity crisis to leverage the approval of a new pipeline to the Pacific Coast, and it looks like she just might get that. So this is a political win for Smith — especially because the September 1, 2027 target for the start of construction of a new pipeline lines up with the start of the next provincial general election campaign.

Expect “We got Alberta a pipeline!” to be splashed all over UCP re-election ads in 2027.

But don’t expect the promise of an oil pipeline to dampen the enthusiasm of Alberta’s separation activists. That was demonstrated clearly last November when Smith was booed by delegates at the UCP AGM when she touted the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding about pipelines and electrification.

For them, it was never about building a pipeline.

Can you tell me how to get. How to get to Forever Canadian Street.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 17, 2026

Thomas Lukaszuk and Michael Janz unveil a mock-up of the proposed Forever Canadian Avenue street sign (source: Dave Cournoyer)

🎶Can you tell me how to get. How to get to Forever Canadian Street.🎶

That might be a tune that children visiting Alberta’s provincial legislature for the first time will sing in years to come if an Edmonton City Councillor gets his wish.

City Councillor Michael Janz joined former Edmonton MLA Thomas Lukaszuk and supporters near the Alberta Legislature today to announce a proposal to rename a two-block stretch of 99th Avenue between 107 Street to 109 Street to Forever Canadian Avenue.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Tags Alberta Politics Substack, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Canada Election Substack, Citizen Initiative Act, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Forever Canadian, Forever Canadian Avenue, Michael Janz, Thomas Lukaszuk, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith will take the pipeline but won’t shelve the separatism talk

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 16, 2026

Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney speak at a joint press conference in Calgary on Friday, May 15, 2026.

Will she just call a referendum anyway? Yes, probably.

Expect “We got Alberta a pipeline!” to be splashed all over UCP re-election ads in 2027.

For them, it was never about building a pipeline.

Alberta librarians and library boards quick to respond to Bill 28

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 13, 2026

The speed at which librarians and the community volunteers who sit on local public library boards across Alberta responded to Williams’ bill was swift.

The Town of Mayerthorpe Library Board took on Williams’ principal claims straight on in a statement published by the Mayerthorpe Freelancer:

The Mayerthorpe Public Library does not have pornographic material for children, nor does any other public library in Alberta. Our collection is guided by a board-approved collection development policy and is informed by professional library standards. Materials are catalogued and shelved appropriately by age. The library board has a formal process for patrons to request reconsideration of items – a process that has never been used in our community.

The Town of Olds Library board expressed concern that several aspects of a proposed bill could curtail library board autonomy and intimidate staff.

Read the rest on the Daveberta Substack

Tags Alberta Book Ban, Bill 28 Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, Canmore Public Library, Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries, Dan Williams, Danielle Smith, Demetrios Nicolaides, Joseph Schow, Town of Mayerthorpe Library Board, Town of Olds Library Board, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Dan Williams’ Bill 28 aims to undermine public trust in public libraries and librarians

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 12, 2026

Minister of Municipal Affairs Dan Williams speaks to reporters on April 2, 2026 (screenshot: Government of Alberta / YouTube)

In the age of Artificial Intelligence, algorithms, easily spread misinformation, and privately owned social media platforms, who better is there to trust in our society than librarians? Like teachers and other educators, professional librarians and library staff are on the frontlines of the fight to preserve and protect credible public information and knowledge.

Public libraries are probably one of the last truly public spaces we have in our communities. They aren’t a private space that you have to pay to access by buying a ticket, membership, or a coffee. Public libraries are for everyone – and they offer much more than books. They provide programming for kids and adults, courses, resources, and a place for community gatherings.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Alberta Politics

New report finds Russian and Trump-aligned online disinformation campaigns targeting Alberta

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 11, 2026

The Globe & Mail reports that a study being released this week by the Global Centre for Democratic Resilience has identified Russian and Trump-aligned websites and social-media accounts that are being created to inflame the separatism debate in Alberta:

“The danger is not the existence of that debate. The danger is that foreign governments, state-aligned media, ideological networks, and profit-driven manipulation systems are seeking to distort it,” the report concludes.

“When external actors amplify separatist narratives, normalize annexation, encourage national rupture, or undermine confidence in democratic processes, the issue is no longer only a matter of provincial politics. It becomes a direct threat to Canada’s democratic integrity, national security, and cognitive sovereignty.”

Alberta separation policy resolution submitted for UCP AGM in November 2026

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 10, 2026

There is already a motion being proposed to adopt separatism as an official party policy at the UCP’s fall AGM.

A divisive policy debate about separatism was narrowly avoided by a vote by the UCP’s provincial board before separatist-endorsed candidates swept the majority of the party’s board positions at year’s AGM in Edmonton.

Emmott Kelsey of the Centurion Project is a UCP member and has submitted a policy resolution for debate at the UCP AGM that would officially endorse Alberta leaving Canada.

Separatist leader threatens nomination challenges against UCP MLAs

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 9, 2026

Separatist spokesperson Jeffrey Rath appeared to threaten to launch nomination challenges against any UCP MLAs who opposed Alberta separatism.

It is probably not surprising that one UCP MLA is already planning to resign and a growing number of UCP cabinet ministers are rumoured to be considering not seeking re-election in 2027 (which is also leading to rumours of a spring cabinet shuffle).

The key takeaway from this is that the separatism debate won’t end with a referendum.