Doug Schweitzer will not run to be UCP leader or seek re-election
Alberta cabinet minister Doug Schweitzer announced Monday evening he would not seek the United Conservative Party's top job or run for re-election.
While he was "humbled" to receive support for a bid to become leader of the UCP, in a statement on Twitter, Schweitzer said he would not run for the position.
"I was honoured to be elected as the MLA for Calgary-Elbow," Schweitzer said, adding he would finish his term to ensure "continuity and stability."
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.
After being elected in 2019, Schweitzer served as justice minister and became the Minister of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation after a cabinet shuffle in the summer of 2020.
"After eight years (of government involvement), I am looking forward to spending more time with my family," he added. "I could not have served our province so diligently without their immense sacrifice and support."
Schweitzer said his priority was always "ensuring safety and economic stability" for all Albertans and that the government's economic recovery plan helped diversify the province's economy while lowering the unemployment rate to its lowest level since 2015.
"Put simply, Alberta is back," Schweitzer said.
"I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together over these many years," he added. "In the years and decades to come, I will continue to meaningfully contribute to public life."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.