Three more citizen-led recall petitions against Alberta politicians fall short

EDMONTON – Three more recall petitions against members of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative caucus have failed.

The Red Deer resident targeting Primary Care Minister Adriana LaGrange says on social media that the campaign gathered about 2,400 signatures, or just over 20 per cent of the more than 11,000 signatures it needed.

Despite falling short, Danny Carlisle wrote on Facebook earlier this week that the signatures still send a message and raise awareness on important issues.

“We’ve done something Adriana LaGrange has failed to do: listen,” Carlisle wrote. 

“In the dead of winter, we spoke to and acknowledged 2,410 people who’ve been ignored and mistreated by a woman who was elected to listen to them.”

The campaigns targeting Culture Minister Tanya Fir and United Conservative backbencher Peter Singh also came up short.

Fir’s petitioner, Chelsea Barnowich, said in an email that the campaign gathered about 2,000 signatures, or roughly 15 per cent of the 13,000 it needed.

Barnowich said the total signatures gathered was nothing to scoff at.

“If 2,000 people in your community signed their names saying they were unhappy with your performance, most people would take that as a reason to pause and reflect,” Barnowich said.

“While we didn’t reach the required threshold within the time frame, I feel strongly that this movement is just beginning rather than ending.”

LaGrange said in an email that she was grateful for the trust constituents place in her, something she doesn’t take for granted.

“I remain committed to working diligently and with integrity, always advocating for the priorities of our community,” she said.

In a statement Fir thanked her constituents for their support. She said she was committed to advocating for the community.

The petitions falling short Thursday means at least 17 of the two dozen recall petitions launched against Smith’s caucus late last year have failed.

Many of those who started the petitions against the UCP have said they were motivated by the government’s use of the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to force striking teachers back to work last fall. Others have said their representatives were hard to reach or dismissive of local concerns.

Smith said earlier this week that she hoped the reason all of the petitions were failing was because Albertans were feeling heard and that the outrage caused by invoking the notwithstanding clause had subsided.

Calgary teacher Denise Hammond, the petitioner targeting Singh, said from her experience it’s not that concerns had eased, it’s that for many those concerns hadn’t existed in the first place.

Hammond, like other petitioners, said many people she spoke too didn’t know Singh was their representative in the legislature or what a member of the legislature even was, let alone know that the province ended the teachers strike by using the notwithstanding clause.

“I think (it was) a misguided assumption, just assuming that because I have been aware of what’s happening and I’m so outraged by it, I assumed that that outrage would trickle into society,” Hammond said in an interview.

Hammond said once she or other volunteers explained their campaign “it didn’t take much convincing to get people on board.”

“I just want to see Peter Singh actually recognize that he represents a riding of people who, through basically sheer luck, decided to vote for him,” she said.

“I think that my MLA is very lucky at how disengaged the people are.”

Hammond wasn’t able to provide an estimated signature count for the petition but confirmed it was less than the 8,500 needed.

Singh said in an email that serving in the legislature was an honour. “I’ll continue working on policies that support jobs, opportunity, and affordability for families and hardworking Albertans,” he said.

There are also petitions against two members of the Opposition NDP, with Thursday being the deadline for the campaign against Calgary MLA and education critic Amanda Chapman.

Champman petitioner Laurie McCormack didn’t immediately respond to interview requests.

Petitioners have three months to collect signatures equal to 60 per cent of the total number of votes cast in their constituency in the 2023 provincial election.

If successful, a constituency-wide vote would be held on whether the politician keeps their seat. If the member loses, a byelection would be held.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.