New Alberta Minister of Finance, Jason Nixon, left, poses with Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary on Thursday.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith elevated Jason Nixon to the job of Finance Minister, awarding the top-level cabinet post to a politician she once relegated to the backbench.
Mr. Nixon took over from Nate Horner as part of a Thursday morning cabinet shuffle. Mr. Horner announced Wednesday he would not run in the next election. Mr. Nixon previously oversaw assisted living and social services.
The cabinet shuffle overhauled leadership in several key portfolios, and kicked off a busy day in Alberta politics.
Mr. Nixon’s old job will now be filled by Nathan Neudorf, a cabinet veteran. Ms. Smith excluded Mr. Nixon from her first cabinet when she took over as United Conservative Party Leader and Premier in the fall of 2022. He had previously served in cabinet in Jason Kenney’s government.
Mr. Horner said he intends to stay in the UCP caucus until the next provincial election, tentatively scheduled for 2027.
Ms. Smith’s changes to her front bench unfolded Thursday morning before a legislative committee reconvened later in the afternoon, where its members voted on UCP MLA Nate Glubish’s motion to recommend to cabinet that a question about provincial secession be added on this fall’s referendum ballot.
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On Wednesday, a premature statement sent by the UCP caucus bungled Mr. Glubish’s first attempt to hold a committee vote on recommending that cabinet proceed with an independence referendum.
The cabinet shakeup also includes new leaders in three of Alberta’s four health departments.
Ms. Smith named Justin Wright, who was elected in 2023, as the Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services, which was previously under Adriana LaGrange’s purview.
Mr. Wright previously served as the parliamentary secretary for rural health for the southern chunk of the province.
Ms. LaGrange will now serve as Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, after Matt Jones on Wednesday said he would step away from cabinet. She was in charge of health before Ms. Smith carved the portfolio up into multiple ministries.
Mr. Jones said he will remain in caucus “at this time.”
Rick Wilson, the Minister for Mental Health and Addiction, remains in his role as the fourth health minister.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, centre, poses with her new cabinet ministers after a swearing-in ceremony in Calgary on Thursday.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Thursday’s shuffle resulted in a cabinet with even greater rural representation. Mr. Jones represents a riding in Calgary, while Mr. Horner is the MLA for Drumheller-Stettler, a rural constituency.
Along with Mr. Wright, Tara Sawyer is new to cabinet. Ms. Sawyer, who won a byelection in a rural riding last June, is the province’s new Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation. RJ Sigurdson, who previously handled the portfolio, is now the Minister of Affordability and Utilities, a job last handled by Mr. Neudorf.
Mr. Wright and Ms. Sawyer are from Cypress-Medicine Hat and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, respectively.
Rebecca Schulz resigned as the Minister for the Environment and Protected Areas at the end of 2025, with Grant Hunter taking over her duties in early 2026. At the time, Ms. Schulz said she would stay in caucus until May. She has yet to leave.
Mr. Horner, Mr. Jones and Ms. Schulz were first elected in 2019, when Mr. Kenney was leading the UCP. The trio are considered moderates in a party that is increasingly listing to the right, under the influence of social conservatives and separatists.
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Ms. Schulz is an MLA in Calgary, while her cabinet replacement is from a rural riding in the south.
Before the Thursday morning cabinet shuffle, Ms. Smith spoke at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, where she discussed the latest milestone in her landmark energy agreement with the federal government that is expected to lay the groundwork for a new bitumen pipeline to the West Coast.
B.C. Premier David Eby has fiercely opposed those plans. Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, appeared to take a hard line on that sentiment Wednesday, saying that if projects in British Columbia get stalled, “we’re going to be spending more time elsewhere in the country.”
Ms. Smith said she was pleased to hear Mr. Carney’s comments, and she added that Mr. Eby has shown support for other projects related to natural gas, electricity and renewables.
“I think the Prime Minister has a lot of persuasion skills, and he also has a lot of dollars that he can assist in moving some of these projects along in British Columbia,” Ms. Smith said.