Campaign for recall petition against MLA Nate Glubish ‘picking up quite quickly,’ say organizers

Petitioners looking to get MLA Nate Glubish recalled said they've seen more Albertans sign their names with about a month before signatures are due.

With a little more than a month to go before signatures are due, the group petitioning to recall United Conservative Party MLA Nate Glubish says it’s feeling optimistic about having constituent voices heard.

Glubish, who represents the riding of Strathcona-Sherwood Park and currently sits as the minister of technology and innovation, is one of more than 20 Alberta politicians currently facing a recall petition.

Elections Alberta has given petitioners until March 10 to collect 15,770 signatures, or 60 per cent of the votes Glubish received in the 2023 general election.

While collecting signatures at the Strathcona County Community Centre on Saturday afternoon, petitioner Drake Worth said the group has gained “some momentum” with milder weather post-holidays.

“We’re all volunteer-run. It’s not like it’s our full-time job, so we don’t have the ability to be out there in that cold … Now that we have warm weather, we’re actually starting to get awareness, it’s picking up quite quickly,” he said.

While he didn’t have an exact number available, he said signatures are easily in the “thousands,” something he finds “extremely exciting.”

“It means that we’re really engaging and that there is truly an issue that our MLA needs to pay attention to,” he added.

Worth said the catalyst to begin a recall petition against Glubish was the Alberta government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to send striking teachers back to work in October.

“You need to be in the community, the first job of an MLA is to represent the community and the constituency,” Worth said. The people signing the petition, he said, are of the opinion that Glubish has not been representing his constituency.

“I’ve done quite a big analysis of (Glubish’s) social media, as well as any media interviews he’s done since September, and roughly 50 per cent of his posts focus on technology and innovation … There’s not really a true call out for hearing people’s stories and hearing their experiences.”

Glubish has previously told media that he strives to represent all constituents.

Although Worth says volunteers are optimistic, he acknowledges that recall petitions are “faced with a very difficult task.”

Recall petitions against UCP deputy speaker Angela Pitt and education minister Demetrios Nicolaides fell short of required signatures by their deadlines in January and early February.

“If we are able to bring that essence of community back together, if we are able to uplift those vulnerable voices, that is an extreme success,” Worth said.

There are 24 members of Alberta’s legislature currently facing recall petitions. Two are Alberta NDP MLAs while the rest are UCP.

With files from The Canadian Press