Recall petition issued for Alberta’s education minister, 16,000 signatures needed

CALGARY – A Calgarian has been given the green light to start collecting signatures to potentially put Alberta’s education minister out of a job.

Alberta’s chief electoral officer approved a recall petition application Thursday for Demetrios Nicolaides, who represents the constituency of Calgary-Bow.

Jennifer Yeremiy wrote in her application that Nicolaides is failing to manage the public education system while it faces a number of challenges, including overcrowded classrooms and understaffed schools.

“His record demonstrates a clear failure to support public education,” she wrote, adding that his actions, and his support of private schools, “render him unfit” to be education minister and represent the riding.

Nicolaides, in a response issued to the petition, said the recall process is being used for the wrong reasons.

“A recall of a (member of the assembly) should not proceed when the stated reason is dissatisfaction with legitimate government policy rather than a failure in the member’s core duties,” he said.

“Recalls should be reserved for breaches of public trust, ethical violations or sustained dereliction of local duty, not as a shortcut to trigger a new election over political differences.

“This recall targets the governing party, not the individual’s role.”

Yeremiy will now have three months to collect roughly 16,000 signatures, or 60 per cent of the total votes cast in the riding when the minister was elected in 2023.

If successful, and the signatures are validated by Elections Alberta, Nicolaides would be stripped of his position and a byelection would be called.

It’s the first time a recall petition has been issued for a member of the assembly since the process was brought in through legislation by former United Conservative premier Jason Kenney in 2021.

Yeremiy, reached by phone late Thursday afternoon, said Nicolaides failed to fulfil his core duties as a legislature member when she and her husband met with him early last year to discuss changes to the education curriculum. Her husband, meanwhile, also wanted to discuss wildfire response funding.

She said she wanted to make sure kids learned about social justice and climate justice in schools, but she said she noticed the minister wasn’t taking notes. She asked him why, and she said he responded that he was only there to listen.

“I said, that’s ridiculous … This doesn’t make sense that you’re not willing to listen to people who care about helping our kids do better,” she said.

“It’s unethical for him to ignore science and to allow propaganda to be spread in our schools.”

It’s not the first time this month Nicolaides has faced public scrutiny for the government’s support of private schools, as the chief electoral officer also recently approved a petition for a potential referendum question that, if successful, would see Albertans vote on ending all private school funding.

Behind the potential referendum question is a Calgary teacher, who argues the funding given to private schools would help alleviate pressures felt in the public system, which is under intense spotlight with an ongoing provincewide teachers strike.

About five per cent, or $461 million, of the government’s education budget this year is set aside for private schools, though that number is forecast to jump to more than $500 million next year.

Yeremiy said she realizes it will be a challenge to get the required number of signatures for her recall petition, and notes organizers will be needed in each of Calgary-Bow’s neighbourhoods.

“Please tell your neighbours, throw some parties, get signatures,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2025.