Nolan Dyck, third member of Alberta premier’s caucus, faces recall petition drive

EDMONTON — A third member of Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party caucus is officially the target of a petition to get him recalled from his job as a member of the legislature.

Elections Alberta said in a news release Friday it has approved a signature-collecting campaign against first-term Grande Prairie legislature member Nolan Dyck.

The approval kick-starts a three-month signature collection period that, if successful, would force a constituency-wide vote on whether Dyck keeps his seat.

In recent weeks, recall petitions have been approved against UCP members Angela Pitt — in Airdrie East — and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in Calgary Bow.

The Grande Prairie resident behind the newest petition, Casey Klein, says Dyck should be recalled because he has dismissed the concerns of his constituents and ignored their attempts to contact him.

Klein also wrote in her application that she’s motivated in part by Dyck’s support of the UCP government using the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to end a provincewide teachers strike last month.

“He has consistently followed the UCP party line instead of representing our community’s concerns,” Klein wrote. “Our community needs an MLA who listens and engages respectfully with their constituents.”

Klein was not available for an interview Friday.

Dyck, in a statement to the electoral officer, argued he has been accessible to his constituents. He said he met with the petitioner in the summer and that he responded to her emails within days.

“I am fully committed to being accessible to all 46,000 constituents,” Dyck wrote.

He added that every vote he casts in the legislature advances the priorities that he was elected on, such as lower taxes, safe communities and boosting the economy.

Dyck, in an email to The Canadian Press, said the recall process shouldn’t be used over disagreements with government policy.

“Recalls are meant to address breaches of trust, serious misconduct, or a sustained failure to represent constituents, not political disagreements,” he said.

Klein has until the middle of February to collect just under 9,500 signatures in order to trigger the next step.

Smith has said the sudden burst of recall campaigns has raised concerns among her and her caucus. She said they are contemplating an amendment to the recall act to ensure it is being complied with in good faith.

“I would say that the spirit of the law is not being lived up to,” Smith told reporters Friday.

She said there have been discussions about having “additional fences built into that legislation,” but that no decisions have been made.

Smith said her government likely erred when it didn’t add in those safeguards when it amended the rules around petitions earlier this year to make it easier for applicants to gather the required signatures.

“We hadn’t had any recalls that had been launched, so we weren’t aware at the time that there were some of these problems,” she said.

Besides recall campaigns, provincewide referendums have also snowballed since Smith’s government lowered the thresholds, including one on Alberta staying in Confederation and one on funding for private schools.

Alberta country music singer Corb Lund announced his own cause this week, filing an application to start collecting signatures for a potential referendum on whether Alberta should ban new coal mining activities in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Lund said it was Smith who inspired him to get to work.

Asked to respond Friday, the premier said: “I’m glad I’m able to be his muse.”

“Maybe he’ll write a song about me,” she said.

“I support citizen-initiated referenda — I think it’s really important that people have their say — so the rules are out there and I’ll watch with great interest.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press