Monday, December 1: Elections Alberta announces that it has verified Thomas Lukaszuk’s “Alberta Forever Canada” citizen initiative petition, concluding that the petition met its signature threshold. The petition now goes to the Legislature, where one potential outcome is referral to the Lieutenant Governor for the purpose of a referendum
Read more: Island Alberta
Tuesday, December 2: The UCP government says that it will—through a motion under the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act—instruct provincial entities, municipal police and the RCMP in Alberta “to decline to enforce or implement” the federal buyback program for hundreds of models of assault-style firearms. The federal program was announced after the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, but a pilot project was only started last October in Cape Breton.
Read more: We Could Prevent a Mass Shooting
Thursday, December 4: Justice minister Mickey Amery introduces the Justice Statutes Amendments Act, 2025. Among other changes, the bill would modify citizen-initiative rules, including transferring the power to refer a possible referendum question to court from Elections Alberta’s chief electoral officer to the minister, and then, after the court has issued its decision, allowing the minister—not the CEO—to decide whether the application should proceed. The bill would also limit the use of words including “conservative,” “wild rose,” “democratic,” “green” and “liberal” in new party names, if these could be confused with existing parties. The change could prevent the Alberta Party from rebranding as the Progressive Conservatives.
Read more: Is a Referendum a Good Way to Make a Decision?
December 4: The CBC reports that Alberta Health Services CEO Andre Tremblay is on a leave of absence, replaced by interim CEO Erin O’Neill. Tremblay took over for Athana Mentzelopoulos in January 2025 after she alleged she was fired for investigating AHS contracts with private surgical companies linked to provincial government officials.
Read more: The Hidden Connections in the Skybox Photo
Friday, December 5: Elections Alberta approves four more recall petitions, including those for MLAs Adriana LaGrange, Tanya Fir and Peter Singh of the UCP, and Amanda Chapman, the first NDP MLA to be the subject of a recall. This brings the total number of approved recall campaigns to 18.
Read more: Parties Over People
December 5: Court of King’s Justice Colin Feasby issues a decision regarding a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada and becoming a sovereign country. Feasy rules that the proposal goes against Charter and Treaty rights, and contravenes several sections of the Constitution Act. In an epilogue responding to yesterday’s proposed Bill 14, the judge added “the legal consequences of discontinuing this proceeding prior to a decision would be to silence the court.”
Read more: The UCP Want More Control
The Week in Alberta is updated weekdays by 4:30pm MT.
