Albertans launched 26 recall petitions against Alberta Members of the Legislative Assembly in 2025.
Some of these petitions have already failed, including the Calgary recall campaign against Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides and Airdrie MLA Angela Pitt.
The citizen-led recall efforts against Premier Danielle Smith fell short this week, too.
But many recall campaigns remain active, with two kicking off this week.
Here’s what you need to know about recall and how it works.
What is a recall petition?
Alberta is one of two provinces where citizens can petition to have their lawmakers removed.
Under the 2025 amendments to the Recall Act, Alberta voters can petition for the removal of any MLA they believe is failing to uphold their responsibilities.
To trigger a district-wide recall vote, petitioners must collect signatures from 60 per cent of voters who cast ballots in the MLA’s district in the last election.
Petitioners then have 90 days to collect.
A successful recall vote would result in the removal of an MLA and a by-election to fill the vacant legislative seat.
Recall petitions are a type of “citizen initiative petition” that allows citizens to directly exercise democracy.
“There are those who support direct democratic mechanisms. In other words, a way for voters to register their views, to hold government accountable, or particular officials accountable between elections,” said Lori Williams, a political science professor at Calgary’s Mount Royal University.
“The two main direct democratic mechanisms that are part of this way of thinking are recall and referendums,” added Williams.
How do recall petitions affect Alberta politics?
The threshold for a successful recall petition is high.
In any electoral district, 60 per cent of votes cast often amounts to around 10,000 signatures to collect.
The campaign to recall Nicolaides in his Calgary-Bow riding was the first direct democracy bid launched.
Despite the education minister’s high profile during last fall’s province-wide teachers’ strike, the bid to unseat him fell more than 10,000 signatures short of its goal of 16,000.
The politics of recall
But beyond the signature count, recall petitions can still have an impact on Alberta politics.
Recall petitions are public expressions of “dissatisfaction” that can register with voters during future elections, said Williams.
The petition seeking to recall Nicolaides expressed dissatisfaction with the Alberta government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to mandate teachers return to work during their 2025 strike.
Jenny Yeremiy, a Calgary resident and the leader of the recall effort against Nicolaides, says she’s proud of her efforts because they raised awareness of issues ignored by Albertans.
She hopes her campaign and its message will inspire more scrutiny among voters about their elected officials.
“Phase one…is that signature phase,” said Yeremiy. “We’re helping people understand why they commit to something like this in their mind, in their thoughts, in their daily lives and [their] concerns.”