MLAs open Alberta legislature's fall sitting amid internal UCP pushback

Alberta MLAs returned to the legislature Tuesday afternoon to open a fall sitting expected to include a dozen new laws, less than a year from the next provincial election amid separatist pushback within the province’s governing party.

Tuesday’s sitting was the first since last May, with the government also introducing its first bill that aims to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices and bolster laws around distribution of deepfake intimate imagery.

It’s the first of what government house leader Joseph Schow estimated last week would be “13 or 14” bills with others to come including on bike lanes and e-scooters, AI data centres, auto insurance changes, and an overhaul of school report cards.

“The legislation that comes into the chamber is always based on what we’re hearing from Albertans,” Schow told reporters last week.

The immigration policies supported in the Oct. 19 referendum will not be brought forward in the legislature this sitting.

Opposition New Democrats dressed in black on Tuesday in reference to the one-year mark since the province used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to impose a new contract on striking teachers.

Official Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi said before the start of Tuesday’s sitting that the government is too focused on culture war issues and is failing to address continued issues of affordability and health care access.

“What we’re not going to hear about are the things that Albertans need every single day,” he said.

In question period, Nenshi attacked Premier Danielle Smith on the referendum, claiming it was a “colossal waste of time,” asking Smith if she regretted holding the vote, and later proposing a notice of a non-confidence vote.

“We should never regret democracy,” Smith said, noting the results affirmed Alberta should remain a province of Canada. “It was a good exercise Mr. Speaker.”

Also Tuesday, government MLA Scott Cyr posted a message online calling for party unity after the constituency association for his Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul riding voted to organize a special general meeting to hold a review of Smith’s leadership.

Separatist Alberta Prosperity Project president Mitch Sylvestre has led that constituency association for the past four years.

He believes separatists are a supermajority of the UCP’s membership, and has accused Smith of abandoning the party’s grass roots and spoken out against an edict from Smith telling separatists wanting to represent the UCP to “join a different party.”

Constituency associations in Highwood, Calgary-Buffalo, and Calgary-Currie have all similarly voted for a review but remain short of the 22 constituency associations required under party rules.

The party says four dozen of other constituency associations support Smith’s leadership including public shows of support from those represented by Indigenous Relations Minister Rajan Sawhney and Deputy Premier Mike Ellis.

The UCP began Tuesday’s sitting down to 47 of the 87 seats in the legislature after two-term MLA Shane Getson announced his immediate resignation on Monday.

The government has the option to call a byelection to replace him, though it is not required to under election laws in instances when there is less than one year to go before an election, with Smith’s office indicating in a statement that a call is unlikely.

“The next provincial election is set for Oct. 18, 2027. As a result there will not be a need to call a byelection.”

Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan announced on referendum night that he would not be seeking reelection.

The fall sitting is scheduled to conclude on Dec. 3 and Alberta’s next election must be held on or before Oct. 18 of next year.