Alberta MLA accuses school principal of weaponizing position to push recall petition

The Alberta legislature is shown in Edmonton, on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson (JASON FRANSON)

One of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s caucus members went on the attack Wednesday against a constituent trying to get her kicked out of the legislature.

Angela Pitt, in an open letter, accused constituent Derek Keenan of abusing his job as a high school principal in order to launch a politically motivated recall petition to try to get her removed as the United Conservative member for Airdrie-East.

“Every Albertan has the right to express their views,” Pitt wrote.

“But using a taxpayer-funded position of authority to advance a politically motivated campaign raises concerns about the potential inappropriateness of said campaign.

“At its core, this effort isn’t about accountability; it never was. It’s about politics, plain and simple.”

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A spokesperson for the United Conservative caucus and Pitt did not immediately respond to an interview request or questions about how Keenan was abusing his position of authority.

Pitt’s letter says she believes the petition is motivated by the Alberta government’s handling of a provincewide teachers strike last month.

Smith’s government passed a bill ordering 51,000 teachers back to work after three weeks off the job while imposing a labour contract that teachers previously rejected. The government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield the law from legal challenge.

That decision has faced widespread criticism from labour groups, lawyers and civil liberties groups as democratically dangerous overreach.

Pitt wrote that the government didn’t make the decision lightly to employ the notwithstanding clause, but said ultimately it was deemed necessary.

“Children have a right to learn, and that right cannot be held hostage to alternate agendas,” she wrote.

Pitt added that she knows some Albertans disagree with the government’s approach and that “dissent is a vital part of democracy.”

“However, the government did not introduce the Recall Act to be weaponized by political activists who disagree with government policy.”

The United Conservatives under former premier Jason Kenney brought in the Recall Act in 2021 as a way to hold elected representatives accountable between general elections.

Keenan, in an interview Wednesday, said his petition drive is not about the teacher dispute, and that his role as a school principal is something he hasn’t been advertising in an effort to avoid the political nature it would imply.

He said his concerns with Pitt are about her general performance as a legislature member.

“This is about her representation of our constituency and the beliefs of our constituency, the lack of communication we’ve experienced over time,” Keenan said.

“I’m trying to keep all of this separate from my position and from my day job. But that is something that she brought to the forefront.”

He said he thought the reference to his job that Pitt and others have made was an attempt to discredit the community’s broader concerns.

“Ultimately I am not worried about it because I do stand on my record as a principal in what I do,” he said.

“I don’t speak about politics at school ... and we’ve not done anything in terms of reaching out to our school population around this.”

Pitt is one of two United Conservative MLAs facing recall efforts, the other being Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, who represents Calgary-Bow.

Both Keenan and the petitioner looking to oust Nicolaides need to gather signatures representing 60 per cent of the total number of people who voted in the ridings in the 2023 election.

If successful and the signatures are validated, a vote would be held within four months in each riding. If more than half the voters cast a ballot to remove either Pitt or Nicolaides, then they would be unseated as a member of the legislature.

Smith’s government has found itself at a crossroads with the recall campaigns.

In recent weeks, Smith has said she thinks the process is being misused in an attempt to topple her government early, rather than letting voters make their judgment at the ballot box in the next election, which is set for the fall of 2027.

Smith has said that no changes to the recall rules are on the table but has also said her government has concerns about how the campaigns are being financed and that people who don’t live in the ridings are lending their support.

Smith’s government has also faced criticism for not properly funding the bureaucracy needed to run the recall efforts.

Alberta’s chief electoral officer Gordon McClure appeared at a legislative committee earlier this month to request an additional $13.5 million in funding, about $2 million of which was to verify and certify signatures from the two active recall campaigns.

The United Conservative majority on the committee rejected the request, providing $1.45 million instead.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press