Monday, May 19: The Globe and Mail reports that Marshall Smith, former chief of staff to Premier Danielle Smith, lived in a home owned by the sister of Sam Mraiche. Mraiche is the businessman at the centre of investigations into overspending with regards to procurement at Alberta Health Services (AHS). Last week Marshall Smith announced a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit against The Globe and Mail and former head of AHS Athana Mentzelopoulos.
Tuesday, May 20: G7 and Ukraine finance ministers meet in Banff as a prelude to the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis this June. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s finance minister, says the goals of the Banff meeting are to “set the global agenda” on economic growth and find consensus on issues related to economic security, Ukraine and artificial intelligence.
May 20: The Republican Party of Alberta chooses Cameron Davies as its candidate in the upcoming provincial by-election in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.
Wednesday, May 21: The Springbank off-stream reservoir, a $849-million project undertaken to protect Calgary, is now operational. The reservoir was commissioned in response to the 2013 floods in southern Alberta and is designed to divert floodwater from the Elbow River before releasing it after the risk has passed.
May 21: Alberta Innovates names Mike Mahon as its permanent CEO. He was the agency’s interim CEO since July 2024 and was previously president of the University of Lethbridge (2010–2023). Alberta Innovates, which “provides funding, business advice and connections, applied research and industrial testing facilities to accelerate research and innovation” is set to lose a third of its provincial funding in the next two years.
Friday, May 23: Minister of Finance Nate Horner releases a statement claiming that Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) leadership has “not been forthright with its members,” that the AUPE is demanding a 29 per cent wage increase over four years, and that the situation “could escalate to a strike.” AUPE president Guy Smith says negotiations are scheduled to resume on June 2, their most recent offer was a 24 per cent wage increase and that he’s “optimistic an agreement can be reached.” AUPE represents about 23,000 workers.
May 23: The Calgary Herald reports that 560 cases of measles have been reported in Alberta, out of a provincial population of nearly five million. By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,046 confirmed measles cases in the US, out of a population of nearly 350 million.
