Protesters gather outside Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides’ Calgary office

Protesters gathered outside Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides’ Calgary-Bow constituency office on Thursday evening.

The group stood in solidarity with teachers, who were forced back to work by the province on Wednesday.

“This situation directly impacts students, and if students don’t speak out, others may speak for us, and we are simply uninterested in that,” said Arya Mishra, rally organizer and student.

“We know that classroom caps must happen because that is how feasible education happens.”

A petition canvasser was also at the rally, gathering signatures to recall Nicolaides.

The petition was officially approved by Alberta’s electoral officer on Oct. 14.

The applicant, Jennifer Yeremiy, has until Jan. 21, 2026, to collect roughly 16,000 signatures, or 60 per cent of the total votes cast in the riding when the minister was elected in 2023.

“His record demonstrates a clear failure to support public education,” states the notice of recall petition by Yeremiy.

“Alberta charter-private school investment is unmatched across Canada. Meanwhile, public education faces: overcrowded classrooms, inappropriate curricula, inadequate resources, and insufficient funding and staff,” the petition application states.

All those who sign have to reside in the Calgary-Bow electoral division for at least three months to be eligible.

In response to the petition, Nicolaides said, “Using the recall process to overturn an election based on policy disagreements undermines stable governance and the electoral process.”