About 30 signatures have been collected, the recall organizer says
Albertans in the riding of Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson are supporting a recall effort against him with their signatures.
“We are sitting at roughly 30 signatures just from me and other canvassers receiving messages and meeting individuals to have them sign,” Molly Metcalf, a teacher from Minister Sigurdson’s Highwood riding who organized the recall, told Farms.com in an email.
Sigurdson is one of multiple UCP ministers and MLAs facing recalls through Operation Total Recall related to their support of using the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work through Bill 2 in October.
Others include Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and Arts Minister Tanya Fir.
Tara Sawyer, the Alberta farmer representing Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, can’t be targeted for a recall until June 2026 because Alberta law prohibits recalls within the first 18 months of an elected official’s tenure.
The hansard from the Alberta legislature indicates she supported using the notwithstanding clause.
Organizers in each riding must collect a certain number of signatures before an MLA can be recalled.
Recall applicants must collect at least 60 per cent of the total number of votes cast in a riding in the most recent election.
As of Dec.10 in Sigurdson’s riding there are 27 canvassers trying to collect 17,400 names, according to RecallRJ.ca.
The deadline is Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
This means organizers would have to gather around 238 signatures per day to meet the requirements.
Metcalf is optimistic the support for the recall in the community will increase once organized signing opportunities are available.
“Once we have regular signing events, we anticipate that number will jump, as I receive many emails each day inquiring about signing,” she said.
Once the deadline passes, Elections Alberta reviews the recall petition.
If the petition is successful, the Lieutenant Governor orders a recall vote.
An MLA is recalled and no longer an elected official if more than 50 per cent of his or her constituents vote in favour of the MLA being recalled.
At that point, a by-election is called in the riding.