On May 21, 2026, Premier Danielle Smith announced changes to her cabinet. This cabinet shuffle comes following the resignation of now-former Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board Nate Horner, and former Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services Matt Jones. Both announced on May 20, 2026, that they would not run for re-election next year. The Government of Alberta’s press release on the cabinet shuffle can be found here.
The cabinet shuffle impacted 6 MLAs through promotions or shuffling. Justin Wright and Tara Sawyer were promoted from the backbench to cabinet positions. 4 ministers were shuffled to new ministries, and 19 ministers remain in their current ministries. The cabinet shuffle changes include the following ministers moved to new positions:
- Jason Nixon as Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board
- Nathan Neudorf as Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services
- RJ Sigurdson as Minister of Affordability and Utilities
- Tara Sawyer as Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation
- Adriana LaGrange as Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services
- Justin Wright as Minister of Primary and Preventative Services
It was also announced that MLA Brandon Lunty will serve as Chief Government Whip (formerly Justin Wright), and that MLA Scott Cyr will serve as Parliamentary Secretary for Transportation and Strategic Development, a newly created position.
Premier Smith also took time to thank departing cabinet ministers Horner and Jones for their dedicated service to Albertans. This will likely be the last major shuffle ahead of the general election as the UCP prepares their election-ready cabinet next year. This shuffle is headlined by the departure of major ministers who are not seeking re-election, as well as the promotion of well-serving backbench MLAs to cabinet.