Monday, January 26: Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi releases an open letter calling on all MLAs to sign a pledge “affirming that you stand as a proud Canadian with Team Canada and denounce the threats of separatism.”
Read more: Forever Canadian
Tuesday, January 27: Following public comments by premier Danielle Smith that she wishes she could “direct the judges,” chief justices from three levels of Alberta’s court system release a rare joint statement, stating that “separation between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government is essential to a functioning democracy.”
Read more: Democracy Will Fail Without an Independent Judicial System
January 27: Country singer Corb Lund’s petition to ban coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains is re-approved by Elections Alberta. Legislative changes by the UCP government cancelled Lund’s previous application and required him to resubmit it. To launch a referendum or force a legislative vote on banning coal mining, petitioners need to collect 178,000 valid signatures in four months.
Read more: The Plans to Strip-Mine Coal in the Mountains
Thursday, January 29: The province announces that Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates’s national airline, is launching direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Calgary. In the last two years, the Alberta government has opened an office in Abu Dhabi and sent several trade missions there.
Read more: Not Enough Pilots
January 29: A list of books the Calgary Board of Education and Edmonton Public School Board removed from libraries following an order from education minister Demetrios Nicolaides is released. The order barred “any explicit visual depiction of a sexual act.” The list was published by freelance journalist Jeremy Appel, who filed access to information requests, and can be found at his The Orchard Substack, here.
Read more: Viciously We Comply
January 29: Scott Sinclair, one of two independent MLAs who attempted to rebrand the Alberta Party as the Progressive Conservatives before legislation restricted their use of the word “conservative,” announces he will remain independent. The Alberta Party rebranded as the Progressive Tory Party in late December 2025.
Read more: What’s in a Name?
Friday, January 30: Deputy opposition leader Rakhi Pancholi says no UCP or independent MLA has signed the letter the NDP issued on Monday denouncing separatism. This comes a day after premier Danielle Smith said her government stands for a “strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,” and Jeff Rath, a lawyer for Stay Free Alberta, a group organizing a separation petition, claimed members of the UCP caucus have signed the petition.
Read more: The Case for Sticking Around
The Week in Alberta is updated weekdays by 4:30pm MT.
