UCP HOISTED ON IT'S OWN PETARD
Story by Lisa Johnson
Alberta Minister of Justice Mickey Amery announces proposed changes to several pieces of democratic process legislation, in Edmonton on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson© The Canadian Press
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 member of the Opposition NDP, education critic Amanda Chapman, also faces a petition.
Sead Tokalic, who filed for the petition against Amery in Calgary-Cross, says the move was triggered by dissatisfaction with the government's handling of public education and funding.
"It all started for me with the teachers' strike and how that was handled. Since then there was a lot more things that came down," Tokalic told The Canadian Press.
In October, the UCP used the Charter's notwithstanding clause to force striking teachers back to work and impose a collective agreement that they had overwhelmingly rejected. Smith has said her government was forced to act because of the toll the three-week strike was taking on more than 740,000 students.
Tokalic said he has heard from others who also don't feel like their MLAs are responsive or representative.
"I emailed my MLA many times, not just this time around, previously as well, before this whole thing started. I never heard from him ever," he said.
He added that he's never been a member of any political party and isn't backed by any activist group.
"I'm just a guy in (the neighbourhood of) Marlborough that's not happy with what's going on," said Tokalic.
In his written reasons to Elections Alberta for a recall, he said Amery supports policies that harm vulnerable populations. Tokalic clarified there are a lot of newcomers attending schools in the constituency who would benefit from more supports.
In response to the petition, Amery told Elections Alberta that he's committed to standing up for his constituency 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.
"My focus is on listening, responding and delivering results that reflect our shared priorities."
Armstrong-Homeniuk represents the constituency of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, east of Edmonton.
Petitioner Edwin Laarz said in his application to Elections Alberta that Armstrong-Homeniuk 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 the strike. It also recently 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, including the premier in her Brooks-Medicine Hat constituency.
Many behind the petitions have said they're campaigning because their representatives have failed to address concerns and viewpoints of constituents.
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 their constituency in the 2023 election.
For the petition against Amery, that amounts to just over 9,000 signatures; for Armstrong-Homeniuk, the campaign would need to collect almost 15,000.
If successful, there would be a constituency-wide vote 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.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
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