Today, Premier Danielle Smith announced her first Cabinet. The members of the UCP’s government top team will be sworn in on Monday, October 24th.
The Cabinet includes a mix of familiar and new faces, with a number of ministers retaining their previous portfolios, and others no longer in cabinet. There is a healthy balance of rural and urban MLAs, as was expected following Premier Smith’s comments that rural Alberta was poorly represented at the cabinet table. There are 12 ministers from Calgary, three from the Edmonton region, and eight from rural areas and smaller urban centres. On a subsequent media appearance today, Premier Smith said the message she is trying to send with this cabinet is stability, boldness, and respect.
Notable absences are Jason Nixon, former Finance Minister and Minister for Environment and Parks, Ric McIver, former Minister of Municipal Affairs, Josephine Pon, former Minister of Seniors and Housing, Prasad Panda, former Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Whitney Issik, former Minister of the Environment, Ron Orr, former Minister of Culture, Tracy Allard, former member of Treasury Board and Minister of Municipal Affairs, and Leela Aheer, the only leadership candidate who was not given a portfolio.
Premier Smith’s Cabinet is as follows:
- Deputy Premier and Minister of Skilled Trades and Professions – Kaycee Madu
- Deputy Premier and Minister of Infrastructure – Nathan Neudorf
- President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance – Travis Toews (no change)
- Minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development – Brian Jean
- Minister of Justice – Tyler Shandro (no change)
- Minister of Health – Jason Copping (no change)
- Minister of Energy – Pete Guthrie
- Minister of Environment and Protected Areas – Sonya Savage
- Minister of Technology and Innovation – Nate Glubish
- Minister of Affordability and Utilities – Matt Jones
- Minister of Municipal Affairs – Rebecca Schulz
- Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors – Devin Dreeshen
- Minister of Public Safety – Mike Ellis
- Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation – Nate Horner
- Minister of Forestry, Parks and Tourism – Todd Loewen
- Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism – Rajan Sawhney
- Minister of Education – Adriana LaGrange (no change)
- Minister of Advanced Education – Demetrios Nicolaides (no change)
- Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction – Dale Nally
- Minister of Indigenous Relations – Rick Wilson (no change)
- Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services – Jeremy Nixon
- Minister of Children’s Services – Mickey Amery
- Minister of Mental Health and Addictions – Nicholas Milliken
- Minister of Culture – Jason Luan
Other leadership positions:
- Whip (Minister without portfolio) – Brad Rutherford
- House Leader (Minister without portfolio) – Joseph Schow
- Deputy House Leaders – Kaycee Madu, Mickey Amery, David Hanson
Parliamentary Secretaries:
- Parliamentary Secretary for Ukrainian Refugee Settlement – Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk
- Parliamentary Secretary for EMS Reform – RJ Sigurdson
- Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health – Tany Yao
- Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Corridors – Shane Getson
- Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism – Miranda Rosin
- Parliamentary Secretary for Agrifood Development – Glenn van Dijken
- Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism – Devinder Toor
- Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women – Tanya Fir
- Parliamentary Secretary for Community Outreach – Muhammad Yaseen
- Parliamentary Secretary for Procurement Transformation – David Hanson
- Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business – Martin Long
New government committee chairs:
- Economy and Affordability Cabinet Policy Committee – Jason Nixon
- Alberta First Cabinet Policy Committee – Garth Rowswell
- Social Services Cabinet Policy Committee – Searle Turton
- Building Communities Cabinet Policy Committee – Pat Rehn
- Legislative Review Committee Chair – Jason Stephan
Treasury Board members will include:
- Travis Toews
- Matt Jones
- Nate Glubish
- Rebecca Schulz
- Devin Dreeshen
- Jordan Walker
- Rick Wilson
- Nathan Neudorf
- Pete Guthrie
Cabinet and other leadership positions are a key part of setting priorities in both political and policy terms for the spring 2023 election.
As always, your team at CSG will continue to keep you updated as the new Premier rolls out her team. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of our team if you have any further questions.
