Rallies are planned on Saturday across Alberta for a Provincial Day of Recall

Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA and Premier Danielle Smith had the petition against her officially issued on Dec. 10, 2025. Organizer Heather Van Snick and her group of volunteers will need 12,070 signatures by March 10, 2026.

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READ: Documents show recall petition for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith approved by Chief Electoral Officer (Dec. 3, 2025)

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The recall petition against Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright became officially issued on Dec. 23, 2025. A signing deadline of March 23, 2026, is set for the 13,150 signatures that organizer Holly Turnbull’s group needs to collect to initiate the process.

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READ: Recall petition issued for Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright, and two others (Dec. 23, 2025)

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Medicine Hat’s Brittany Doctor, involved in the effort to recall Smith, said they are seeing MLAs like Smith suddenly show up more often, but avoiding opportunities to engage with constituents who are gathering.

“Smith and the UCP caucus rarely advertise events publicly in advance; most are organized through internal membership lists, further isolating our community,” Doctor claimed.

There have been 26 recall campaigns launched, 24 against United Conservative Party members, and two against New Democrats.

So far, recall efforts against two UCP MLAs have fallen short.

The recall petition applications started to come in after the government used the notwithstanding clause in late October to send teachers back to work with the Back to School Act.

The first signature campaign was against Education Minister and Calgary-Bow MLA Demetrios Nicolaides in October 2025.

That effort was spearheaded by Jenny Yeremiy and a team of volunteers, with preliminary signature counts by Elections Alberta showing they collected 6,519 of the 16,006 required. The deadline for that campaign was Jan. 21, 2026.

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READ: First citizen recall petition against Alberta legislature member fails (Jan. 20, 2026)

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A recall campaign against Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt fell short of its requirement.

Numbers haven’t been listed on the Election Alberta website. However, organizer Derek Keenan said early this week that he had only collected about 2,200 signatures of the 14,813 required and was giving up the campaign.

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READ: Second recall petition against an Alberta legislature member fails (Feb. 2, 2026)

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Recall initiatives remain in 24 provincial ridings, with organizers saying there is widespread frustration with a lack of accountability and meaningful engagement from elected officials.

The UCP government has been critical of how the recall process has been used.

“The recall process should not be used to overturn democratic elections just because an individual disagrees with government policy,” said a statement from the UCP in December.

“Recalls are meant to address breaches of trust, serious misconduct, or a sustained failure to represent constituents, not political disagreements,” the statement continued.

“Our United Conservative Caucus remains focused on what we were elected to do, which is standing up for Albertans by growing our economy, lowering taxes, and creating opportunities.”

Signing event dates and locations continue to be announced by each campaign.

Organizers say the rallies share a common message of Albertans wanting transparency, accountability, and representation.

The organizers added in a press release that they have been hearing consistent concerns from residents about affordability, healthcare, education, and disability support.

A full list of the recall initiative is available through the Elections Alberta website.

The rally in Medicine Hat will be held in front of Justin Wright’s office at 1299 TransCanada Way on Feb. 7 from 11 a.m. to noon. This will also be a signing event.

Those involved with the campaign will also be in Bassano for a signing event that day between noon and 2 p.m. outside the Pioneer Dampsiters Drop-in Centre at 317 Second Ave.

A mass signing event in Redcliff on Saturday will take place from noon until 8 p.m. at 26 Main Street South.

McBride’s Bakery, located at 1791 Dunmore Rd. Southeast will continue to host weekly signing events on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

— With files from The Canadian Press

by Jesse Gill

Rallies are planned on Saturday across Alberta for a Provincial Day of Recall

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