Alberta jobs minister resigns position, will quit as MLA
Another member of Jason Kenney's cabinet has left the party.
Alberta's Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer announced Friday that he offered his resignation to the premier, saying "it was an honour" to serve in Kenney's government.
"I believe that people will look back at the last six to 12 months as the economic turning point for Alberta."
Schweitzer's resignation as jobs minister came on the same day that Alberta announced another drop in its unemployment rate.
He said the numbers show the province's economy "continues to remain strong."
"Both Edmonton and Calgary had strong months, with Edmonton seeing more than 3,000 new jobs and Calgary seeing more than 12,000," he said.
The Calgary-Elbow MLA announced on May 23 that he would not be seeking re-election. At the same time, Schweitzer dispelled the notion of running for leadership of the UCP.
Schweitzer led the late Jim Prentice's leadership campaign and was later one of three finalists in the UCP's first leadership race in 2017, finishing last behind Premier Jason Kenney and former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean.
He said he is planning to spend more time with his family after serving eight years in politics.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.