Overview
- The petition was initiated by Calgary geophysicist Jennifer Yeremiy, a former Alberta Party candidate, who argues Nicolaides has failed to support public education by boosting charter and private funding as public classrooms struggle.
- Elections Alberta says this is the first recall petition application approved under the Recall Act, with the petition issued Oct. 23 following recent amendments to the law.
- To proceed, the campaign must collect 16,006 valid signatures—60% of 2023 voters in the riding—by Jan. 21, 2026, using registered local canvassers and signers who have lived in Calgary-Bow for at least three months.
- Once submitted, Elections Alberta will verify signatures within 21 days and publish the result about a week later, with a successful petition triggering a local referendum on recall and a possible byelection.
- Nicolaides formally disputed the grounds as policy-based rather than a failure of duty, as the effort unfolds during a provincewide teachers’ strike affecting roughly 51,000 teachers and 750,000 students, with Premier Danielle Smith saying back-to-work legislation will be introduced Monday if no deal is reached.