UCP MLA facing recall north of Edmonton

Angry over the UCP government using the notwithstanding clause to force striking teachers back to work and impose an unpopular contract, a St. Albert father is one of several Albertans now trying to recall his MLA.

In this case, it’s MLA Dale Nally in Morinville–St. Albert.

“I have no connections to any groups. This is just me as a citizen, stepping forward, being tired with some of the policies and then the use of something very extreme to take away the rights of citizens. It’s bothersome to me,” said Josh Eberhart, who is organizing the petition to recall Nally.

Nally said he wouldn’t comment on Eberhart, but he insists this is all part of a grand plan to force Albertans to the polls, two years early.

“Listen, let’s be frank. This is a left-wing activist organization. They are well-funded, well-organized, and they are targeting 21 MLAs in the hopes that they can recall three, so they can force a general election. Now I gotta tell you, I’ve spoken with the residents of Morinville–St. Albert and they are not looking for a general election, so I don’t think that is the path forward,” said Nally.

Nally did not name the organization he believes is behind this.

Eberhart says he has been offered help from strangers online, but is not linked to any activists.

Twenty-one UCP MLAs are now being targeted by recall petitions, according to the website Operation Total Recall, which claims to be community-run.

Nally won this riding in 2023 with 13,000 votes. The NDP grabbed 11,000. So, getting nearly 16,000 signatures to force a recall vote will not be easy, and Nally might go on to win that anyway.

Eberhart acknowledges that collecting that many signatures, especially in cold weather, will be a challenge, but he believes it’s possible.

“The other thing is, there’s maybe a lot of people who didn’t cast a vote in the last election who would be willing to sign. So we’ll see what they have to say,” said Eberhart.

In the riding, a possible recall of Nally is proving controversial.

Bruce Tolton, a St. Albert resident, said, “Oh, big mistake. Big mistake. And I think that’s one of the reasons everybody is standing up for the teachers,” when he was asked about the government forcing teachers back to work.

Michel Azais, a St. Albert-area resident, said, “No. He’s been elected by the majority of the people. Not because one doesn’t like this or that,” when asked if he thinks the MLA should be fired.

Wayne Turcotte, a Morinville resident, said, “Next election, that’s when they can deal with it. Just like we have to deal with our current Liberal government, we gotta wait until the next election comes along to get rid of that idiot.”

There have been rumours that the UCP will amend recall legislation to stop petitions or make them harder. But Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery denied that on Tuesday, saying, “No amendments or repeal of the recall act are being contemplated at this time, no.”

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said it’s not fair for it to be written off as a “left-wing” thing.

“That’s the contempt in which the government sees citizens. Here’s the thing: they wrote the legislation,” explained Nenshi.

If and when Elections Alberta approves Eberhart’s application, he will have 90 days to collect signatures.

That process is already underway in Calgary to recall Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt.