A formal complaint has been filed with Elections Alberta over the Recall Nicolaides campaign, citing concerns over organizers using the operation for personal financial gain.The campaign led by former geophysicist Jennifer Yeremiy is currently one of fourteen that has popped up in the last two months, targeting UCP MLAs in Alberta since Premier Danielle Smith’s use of the notwithstanding clause in October to force striking teachers back to work.Yeremiy has been an outspoken critic of the UCP government and has previously compared Alberta’s political direction to the US Republican policy blueprint “Project 2025,” calling the province “a testing ground” for similar ideas and has spoken out against what she describes as “misinformation perpetuated through the public and through the education system,” particularly around carbon capture, LNG, and fossil-fuel expansion.The complaint, obtained by the Western Standard, and filed on Wednesday alleges that the recall website, its volunteer sign-up system, and subsequent email communication steer supporters toward Yeremiy’s Substack publication and podcast, The Gravity Well, operated through a private company called 2025 JDY Inc.“The recall website and campaign emails directly funnel registrants into platforms that solicit paid subscriptions, promote personal content, and generate traffic for Ms. Yeremiy’s for-profit media ecosystem,” the complaint reads.It claims this setup raises “substantial reason to believe” the recall campaign is being used in a way that contravenes Alberta’s Recall Act and the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (EFCDA)..According to the complaint, volunteers who register through the recall website are immediately encouraged to follow Yeremiy on Bluesky, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Substack..The Substack link leads directly to her paid publication, where users are prompted to subscribe to content at $10 per month or $80 per year and to follow additional political newsletters..The complaint alleges that volunteers are then added to commercial email funnels, receiving solicitations from Yeremiy’s publication as well as third-party newsletters tied to her referral network..The complaint argues, this amounts to the use of recall campaign data for commercial purposes — an activity restricted under the Recall Act and Alberta’s political privacy rules.An anonymous source, whom we will refer to as Sarah, told the Western Standard that she had signed up as a volunteer on the Calgary-Bow Recall Nicolaides campaign website.Sarah went on to say she received a confirmation email encouraging her to join the “Recall Nicolaides Signal channel” through a hyperlink.“Clicking that link redirected me not to a legitimate campaign coordination channel, but to The Gravity Well, where I was prompted to make a paid subscription to ‘The Gravity Well with Jenny Yeremiy,’” Sarah stated.After signing in, Sarah then automatically received four emails which subscribed her to several unrelated media newsletters, including ones operated by Yeremiy (promoting paid upgrades), Markham Hislop, Rachel Donald, and Emily Atkin. “This redirection appears to blur — if not entirely erase — the separation required between a regulated recall campaign’s volunteer recruitment and a private online subscription operation,” Sarah said.“It suggests that volunteers may be unknowingly solicited for funds or monetized through unrelated platforms without the reporting and accountability required by law.”.The complaint asks Elections Alberta to launch a full investigation into whether recall activities were used for personal commercial benefit; to suspend or cancel the petition until an investigation is complete; to invalidate signatures collected from anyone directed to Yeremiy’s business; and to require all associated commercial entities to register as third-party advertisers.It also calls for “any sanctions or directives necessary” to ensure the recall process remains a public accountability mechanism rather than “a private commercial funnel.”Among the sections of the Recall Act cited as potentially relevant are rules restricting who may accept contributions, limits on indirect financial benefits tied to canvassing, requirements for third-party advertisers, and provisions governing the collection and protection of volunteer information.“The recall mechanism was created to allow electors to hold MLAs democratically accountable. It was not created to serve as an engine for subscription-based media businesses or personal commercial benefit,” the complaint reads.“The Recall Nicolaides campaign is driving recall volunteers and supporters directly into a private revenue-generating ecosystem, in a way that appears incompatible with the Recall Act and the EFCDA.”The Recall Act, introduced in 2021, allows organizers 90 days to collect signatures from 40% of eligible voters in a specific riding — roughly 16,000 signatures in Calgary-Bow.The Western Standard has reached out to Yeremiy for comment.
