Shane Getson, outspoken UCP backbencher, quits Alberta legislature on eve of sitting
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EDMONTON – A plainspoken, two-term Alberta United Conservative backbencher who courted controversy and riled up the Opposition NDP is quitting the job effective immediately.
Shane Getson says he is leaving due to personal and family reasons but does not elaborate.
“I can no longer give the time and attention that I have over the last seven years,” Getson said Monday in a statement written for local newspapers and shared by caucus.
“Providing anything less would diminish both my responsibilities to the people I serve and to my family.”
Getson has represented Lac. Ste. Anne-Parkland, a mostly rural riding northwest of Edmonton, since 2019.
In his time, he was known for blunt speeches and comments that often drew backlash from the political left.
In his goodbye statement, Getson writes, “Don’t chase the wackado woke, DEI, socialist easy fix for nothing ideas because of emotions getting ahead of logic.
“At the same time, keep your ears and minds open. Listen to different perspectives.”
Among his accomplishments, Getson highlights a number of foreign trips representing the province, including attending a United States presidential inauguration.
Getson never served in cabinet but for a time was the United Conservative caucus whip.
He made headlines for controversial comments, including comparing transgender surgery to livestock castration in 2025. Getson had given the example of castrating a bull to make it a steer, saying once the animal is a steer, there’s no going back.
“You’re not going to grow back those parts if you change your mind,” Getson said during legislature debate.
“If the steer changes his mind, too late; you’re a steer.”
Getson later spoke of overcoming his own childhood abuse through religious faith, team sports, and hard work.
He capped a heartfelt address by quoting a Johnny Cash song about a boy who faced hardship: “Life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue.”
Getson spoke out against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates, supporting convoy protesters in 2022, which spurred the NDP to call for Getson’s removal from caucus.
In 2020, Getson suggested some unemployed Albertans collecting federal pandemic supports were reluctant to return to work because they were making more money “eating Cheezies and watching cartoons.”
At the time, Getson said the NDP had taken his comments out of context for political gain.
Getson’s vacant seat means the UCP now holds 46 seats in the legislature. The Opposition NDP have 39 and the Progressive Tories one.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2026.