Citizen recall petition approved against Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery

EDMONTON – Alberta’s justice minister is the latest member of Premier Danielle Smith’s caucus to face a citizen recall petition.

Elections Alberta announced Wednesday petitions against Mickey Amery and fellow United Conservative Party legislator Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk.

That means 22 UCP legislature members are facing recall petitions – a number approaching half the 47-member caucus.

One of the petitions is against Smith in her Brooks-Medicine Hat constituency.

One member of the Opposition NDP, education critic Amanda Chapman, also faces a petition.

The petitioner against Amery in Calgary-Cross said the minister needs to go because he has ignored constituent concerns and supports harmful policies.

“Amery has been unresponsive to his constituents as a representative, and as the minister of justice, he should defend rights, not eradicate them,” petitioner Sead Tokalic wrote in his reasons to Elections Alberta for a recall.

Tokalic wasn’t specific on which rights Amery was eradicating and couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

In response, Amery told Elections Alberta that he listens to and works for his constituents, and, like other UCP members, argues the recall process is being abused.

“The Recall Act is in place to address serious misconduct or ethical violations – not to be misused by partisan activists trying to undermine democracy,” Amery wrote.

Armstrong-Homeniuk represents the constituency of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville.

Petitioner Edwin Laarz said in the application to Elections Alberta the politician ignores constituents and was silent when the province recently used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause.

Smith’s government used the clause to override teachers’ rights to end a three-week-long provincewide strike. It has also used the clause to shield three laws affecting transgender citizens from court challenges.

Armstrong-Homeniuk, in response, said she works hard for her constituents and has a mandate to represent them based on winning her seat in the 2023 provincial election.

The recall campaigns target MLAs from across the province.

Many of those behind the petitions have said they were campaigning because their representatives have failed to address concerns and viewpoints of constituents.

 A large number also cited the government using the notwithstanding clause on teachers.

The recall process is lengthy and involves multiple steps. 

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

For the petition against Amery, that amounts to just over 9,000 signatures; for Armstrong-Homeniuk, the campaign will need to collect almost 15,000.

If successful, a constituency-wide vote is held on whether the representative keeps their seat. If the member fails to gain a majority of votes, a byelection is held.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2025.

Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous version had the incorrect first name for United Conservative Party MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk.