Recall Push Targets MLA Justin Wright

FULL DISCLOSURE:
About a decade ago, I worked with Justin Wright at Future Shop. This article is written with that relationship disclosed up front, because transparency matters—especially when we’re talking about recalls, accountability, and democracy.

In the dead zone of the calendar—the stretch between Christmas leftovers and New Year’s resolutions—a recall petition against Cypress–Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright is officially underway.

The effort is being organized by local resident Holly Turnbull, who began publicly mobilizing supporters this morning with what she’s calling a mass petition drive. Volunteers are set to collect signatures from vehicles on public green space, approaching from the passenger side, while canvassers with badges fan out to make what Turnbull hopes will be an early dent in a steep requirement: 13,150 valid signatures.

That number alone makes this a heavy lift. Add in the timing—holiday hangovers, empty streets, and a forecast that includes –25°C temperatures and snow by Sunday—and the recall effort is launching under less-than-ideal conditions.

But Turnbull isn’t pretending otherwise.

“This is a no-fail effort,” she wrote. “No small feat—but I’m confident we’ll get there.”

Justin Wright

What the Petition Is About

The recall application, accepted by Elections Alberta, lists multiple grievances against Wright, including:

• Remaining silent on eastern slopes coal mining despite water and agricultural risks

• Supporting the use of the notwithstanding clause without public consultation

• Making a statement in the Legislature later contradicted by RCMP information, without clarification

• Ignoring widespread opposition to a provincial police force

• Failing to address access to health care and rising costs of living

The petition period runs December 24 through March 23, meaning this winter campaign will be fought in parking lots, on icy sidewalks, and through door-to-door conversations in some of the coldest weeks of the year.

Turnbull’s call to action specifically targets residents of Desert Blume, Seven Persons, Elkwater, and the broader Cypress–Medicine Hat riding—while also encouraging supporters outside the riding to amplify the effort online.

A Curious Choice of Words

One detail has raised eyebrows among politically tuned-in observers.

While other MLAs facing recall notices have titled their official responses as a “response” or “reply,” Justin Wright’s memo is labeled a “Statement of Defense.”

It’s a small semantic choice—but politics lives in language.

“Defense” implies an accusation, a charge, a courtroom posture. Whether intentional or not, it lands differently than a neutral response. In optics-driven politics, that matters—especially when the entire mechanism of recall is built around public perception of representation and trust.

Democracy, in Parkas

Recall legislation was sold to Albertans as a democratic pressure valve—a way for constituents to act between elections if they believe their MLA is not representing them.

This is what that looks like in practice: clipboards in sub-zero temperatures, volunteers coordinating parking logistics, Google Forms circulating on social media, and people asking their neighbours—over frozen windshields—whether they still feel heard.

Launching a recall after Christmas, before New Year’s, and during a deep freeze demonstrate either stubborn optimism or serious resolve. Possibly both.

Whether the effort succeeds or not, it’s already a real-world stress test of Alberta’s recall law—and a reminder that democracy doesn’t pause for holidays, or for the weather.

The question now isn’t whether the petition exists.

It’s whether enough people will brave the cold to sign it.

Where and When to Sign

As the holiday week rolls on, organizers are also circulating specific, time-limited signing opportunities around Medicine Hat—some as early as Boxing Day.

A local bakery amplified the recall effort with the following public schedule:

Boxing Day (Today):

• 1:00–2:00 pm — Dunmore Road, in front of BMO / Sport Chek

• 6:30–7:00 pm — Liquid Night Club, on the highway next to the Husky

Saturday, December 27:

• 11:00 am–12:00 pm — In front of Justin Wright’s constituency office on TransCanada Way

• 12:30–1:00 pm — Hat High

• 6:30–7:00 pm — Hat High, again, just ahead of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (which attendees are encouraged to go see)

• 2:00 pm — Kiwanis Centre, during a gamer event

The message attached to the post was blunt and unmistakably local:

You have options, Medicine Hat. Please use them — get out and sign.

Whether the recall effort ultimately succeeds or stalls under winter boots and holiday fatigue, the next few days will show how much appetite there is—right now—for turning frustration into signatures.

In Alberta’s newest experiment with recall democracy, even Boxing Day isn’t off-limits.