EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith announced a series of cabinet changes on Thursday to fill two vacant positions, including appointing Jason Nixon as Finance Minister. MLA Tara Sawyer and MLA Justin Wright joined UCP caucus members called upon to join Smith's cabinet on Thursday, following the departure of Finance Minister Nate Horner and Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones. Other changes included MLA Nathan Neudorf replacing Nixon as Assisted Living and Social Services Minister, MLA Adriana LaGrange filling the role as Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister, and MLA RJ Rigurdson stepping into Neudorf's prior position as Affordabilities and Utilities Minister. .Wright, who was appointed the Chief Government Whip in December, will step into LaGrange's prior role as Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services. MLA Brandon Lunty will fill the whip position.Sawyer was named the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, a role previously held by Sigurdson. MLA Scott Cyr will take over for Sawyer as parliamentary secretary for transportation and strategic development."With this team of ministers, we will stay focused on delivering on our commitments and ensure Alberta remains forever strong and free," Smith said during a speech on Thursday.Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Thursday's cabinet changes make no difference in the UCP's ability to effectively serve Albertans. "This government doesn’t care about the needs of Albertans," wrote Nenshi in an X post following the announcement. "It’s doing nothing about the cost-of-living crisis. It’s not creating jobs for the future. And it's destroying public services. No cabinet shuffle can fix that.” .The seven-position domino effect was triggered when Horner and Jones both announced on Wednesday that they will not be running for reelection in Alberta's 2027 election and stepped away from cabinet to allow individuals seeking another term to fill their roles."When the Premier first appointed me to this cabinet role, I told her it was likely that my second term would be my last," wrote Horner in a letter published on X on Wednesday. "As we passed the halfway point of this term, I have had many conversations about the future.""I have decided that the original plan is still the best fit for me and my family and that I will not be seeking re-election after this term." Both Horner, the MLA for Drumheller-Stettler, and Jones, the MLA for Calgary-South East, said they intended to serve their respective constituencies for the remainder of the current term.Smith thanked both ministers on Thursday for their service..The Western Standard's publisher, Derek Fildebrandt, published a story on May 13 forecasting Nixon's promotion could be in line to replace him, but did so with major caveats stating that sources had both confirmed and denied the reports. "Nixon's promotion to ride shotgun in Smith's coach is an interesting one," wrote Fildebrandt in the article. "He has no financial or business background — as is traditional for finance ministers — but he is considered a strong political warhorse."He is currently in his third term as MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, and served prior roles as opposition house leader, Minister of Environment and Parks, before taking the assisted living position. .Thursday's announcement makes changes to three of the four minnisteries overseeing sectors of Alberta's health care system. LaGrange will make a rather lateral move by shifting from primary health to hospitals, having previously served as the overall Health Minister for nearly two years before the ministry was divided into four new ministries in May 2025. Wright is getting a promotion with his move to fill LaGrange's vacancy after serving as Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health (South) since February 2025. He previously worked in the business and retail industry before being elected as Cypress-Medicine Hat's MLA in 2023. His promotion means both of Medicine Hat's MLAs are now serving in senior government positions, with Smith representing the Brooks-Medicine Hat constituency. Neudorf appears relatively new to the health care game, though. He worked largely in the construction industry prior to being elected to represent Lethbridge-West in 2019. His prior cabinet roles included time as Minister of Infrastructure before becoming Minister of Affordability and Utilities in 2023. Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Ric Williams will continue to serve as the fourth health care minister, having been appointed to the role following the initial ministry split. "This cabinet shuffle does nothing for Albertans," Nenshi wrote. "It’s still the largest cabinet in Alberta history. It still has four health ministers overseeing the destruction of public health care. It still has an energy minister allowing for coal mining in the Eastern Slopes. The Indigenous relations minister that recently had every First Nations Chief vote non-confidence in this government is the same. And it still has a municipal affairs minister that is hiring library inspectors.".Sigurdson will transition from agriculture to utilities following Thursday's announcement, after serving as Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation since June 2023. His prior professional experience includes working at Avalanche Air Systems as a senior project/general manager, and he holds a Red Seal in metalworking. Sawyer has industry experience in agriculture. Her government bio says she is "an experienced agriculture leader who has served on the boards of provincial and national organizations." Sawyer also manages the business aspects of her family's farm in Central Alberta. Her appointment means all three UCP members serving on the committee assigned to review and report on Thomas Lukaszuk's Forever Canadian petition are cabinet ministers. Nixon and Minister of Indigenous Relations Rajan Sawhney are also on the committee, and Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish has served as Sawhney's substitute at previous meetings. Lunty is the Chair of the committee. "Two cabinet ministers ‘resigned’ yesterday, a week after they broke with the premier and opposed the government’s plans to force Albertans into a separatist referendum," Nenshi wrote in his X post. "Now, Premier Smith is finalizing the membership of her new separatist cabinet.".The UCP cabinet was previously reorganzied in December when MLA Grant Hunter took over for Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz after she announced her intention to step away from government after the spring session. The ceremony Thursday morning started with a land acknowledgment.
