Alberta’s chief electoral officer has given the green light to a petition seeking the recall of Demetrios Nicolaides, the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Bow and also the Minister of Education and Childcare. The petition, submitted by Jennifer Yeremiy from Calgary, received approval last week, and the petition process officially started on October 23. Under Alberta’s legislation, Yeremiy has a 90-day period to gather 16,006 signatures within the electoral division to validate the petition.
This marks the first approval of a recall petition application under the Recall Act, which was passed by the United Conservative Party government in 2021 and was revised in July of the same year to lower the threshold for recalls. Yeremiy’s petition cites Nicolaides’ alleged failure to support public education as the reason for the recall, highlighting concerns such as overcrowded classrooms, inadequate resources, and a lack of staff in public schools.
Since October 6, approximately 51,000 public, separate, and francophone school teachers across Alberta have been on strike. Premier Danielle Smith announced plans to introduce back-to-work legislation next week to address the ongoing strike. In response, Nicolaides’ office stated that the recall targets the UCP government as a whole and not his individual role as an MLA. The statement emphasized that recalls should be based on breaches of public trust or ethical violations, rather than disagreements over government policies.
Yeremiy, a former Alberta Party candidate, initiated the petition through a group called AB Resistance with the objective of triggering early elections by submitting multiple recalls. Nicolaides narrowly secured his position as MLA for Calgary-Bow in 2023, defeating NDP candidate Druh Farrell by 623 votes. Political science professor Marc Froese believes the outcome of the petition may depend on the resolution of the teachers’ strike and the level of public dissatisfaction with the UCP government.
The recall process for Nicolaides requires the support of 60% of voters in Calgary-Bow who participated in the last general election. Previously, a recall necessitated the backing of 40% of eligible voters. Yeremiy must gather the required 16,006 signatures by January 21, 2026, within the extended 90-day timeframe. Success in the petition will prompt a referendum within Calgary-Bow to decide on Nicolaides’ recall and the subsequent byelection. Nicolaides was mandated to provide a statement to the chief electoral officer, with the same statement shared with CBC News.