Connect with us

Alberta

Four Central Albertans will play key roles in the new Alberta Government!

Published

5 minute read

From the Province of Alberta

Premier Kenney appoints strong team ready to lead

Alberta’s 18th Premier, Jason Kenney, and his cabinet were sworn in at Government House in Edmonton on April 30.

“Albertans gave our new government a huge democratic mandate for bold change that gets our economy back to work and stands up for this province. This is a strong team that is ready to lead, and to deliver that change starting today.”

Premier Jason Kenney

Alberta’s new government is one of the most youthful in Canada, with a strong mandate to represent all Albertans. Diversity is reflected through the 13 different languages spoken by ministers and, for the first time, Alberta will have a minister responsible for Multiculturalism, as well as a dedicated parliamentary secretary. The province will be well served in attracting entrepreneurial immigrants who create jobs and bring economic growth to Alberta with a Minister of Immigration.

“Many of the ministers appointed are Albertans by choice and not chance, having immigrated to this province because they saw it as a land of opportunity that they now seek to serve. Alberta’s new cabinet includes farmers, teachers, tradespeople, small business owners, lawyers, business executives, musicians, oil and gas experts, public servants and a range of other professional backgrounds. These ministers are in touch with the lives of the people they will be serving.”

Premier Jason Kenney

“This is a young, energetic and diverse team with deep experience. With an average age of 43, most members of this cabinet are new to public service. They ran for all of the right reasons: because they want to work hard to reverse years of economic decline and stagnation, and to get our economy moving again. This is a team that will be obsessed with creating jobs, showing the world that Alberta is open for business again, and fighting for a fair deal in Canada.”

 Premier Jason Kenney

Premier Kenney and cabinet will meet for the first time immediately after the swearing-in. They will be focused on getting to work on Day One, implementing the comprehensive United Conservative agenda. Later today, Premier Kenney will be launching his strategy to stand up for Albertans, beginning with a presentation to a Senate committee, opposing the disastrous Bill C-48 – a bill unfairly targeting and discriminating against Alberta resources.

Full biographies for Alberta’s new cabinet can be found on Alberta.ca.

Ministers

  • Premier Jason Kenney, President of Executive Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Relations

  • Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Advanced Education

  • Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry

  • Rebecca Shulz, Minister of Children’s Services

  • Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Community and Social Services

  • Leela Aheer, Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women

  • Tanya Fir, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism

  • Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Education

  • Sonya Savage, Minister of Energy

  • Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks

  • Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health

  • Rick Wilson, Minister of Indigenous Relations

  • Prasad Panda, Minister of Infrastructure

  • Doug Schweitzer, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General

  • Jason Copping, Minister of Labour and Immigration

  • Kaycee Madu, Minister of Municipal Affairs

  • Josephine Pon, Minister of Seniors and Housing

  • Nate Glubish, Minister of Service Alberta

  • Ric McIver, Minister of Transportation

  • Travis Toews, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance

Associate Ministers

  • Jason Luan, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions
  • Dale Nally, Associate Minister of Natural Gas
  • Grant Hunter, Associate Minister of Red Tape

Parliamentary Secretary

  • Muhammad Yaseen, Parliamentary Secretary of Immigration

Major non-cabinet assignments

  • Jason Nixon, House Leader
  • Doug Schweitzer, Deputy House Leader
  • Ric McIver, Deputy House Leader
  • Sonya Savage, Deputy House Leader
  • Mike Ellis, Whip
  • Joseph Schow, Deputy Whip

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

Follow Author

Agriculture

Lacombe meat processor scores $1.2 million dollar provincial tax credit to help expansion

Published on

Alberta’s government continues to attract investment and grow the provincial economy.

The province’s inviting and tax-friendly business environment, and abundant agricultural resources, make it one of North America’s best places to do business. In addition, the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit helps attract investment that will further diversify Alberta’s agriculture industry.

Beretta Farms is the most recent company to qualify for the tax credit by expanding its existing facility with the potential to significantly increase production capacity. It invested more than $10.9 million in the project that is expected to increase the plant’s processing capacity from 29,583 to 44,688 head of cattle per year. Eleven new employees were hired after the expansion and the company plans to hire ten more. Through the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit, Alberta’s government has issued Beretta Farms a tax credit of $1,228,735.

“The Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit is building on Alberta’s existing competitive advantages for agri-food companies and the primary producers that supply them. This facility expansion will allow Beretta Farms to increase production capacity, which means more Alberta beef across the country, and around the world.”

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation

“This expansion by Beretta Farms is great news for Lacombe and central Alberta. It not only supports local job creation and economic growth but also strengthens Alberta’s global reputation for producing high-quality meat products. I’m proud to see our government supporting agricultural innovation and investment right here in our community.”

Jennifer Johnson, MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka

The tax credit provides a 12 per cent non-refundable, non-transferable tax credit when businesses invest $10 million or more in a project to build or expand a value-added agri-processing facility in Alberta. The program is open to any food manufacturers and bio processors that add value to commodities like grains or meat or turn agricultural byproducts into new consumer or industrial goods.

Beretta Farms’ facility in Lacombe is a federally registered, European Union-approved harvesting and meat processing facility specializing in the slaughter, processing, packaging and distribution of Canadian and United States cattle and bison meat products to 87 countries worldwide.

“Our recent plant expansion project at our facility in Lacombe has allowed us to increase our processing capacities and add more job opportunities in the central Alberta area. With the support and recognition from the Government of Alberta’s tax credit program, we feel we are in a better position to continue our success and have the confidence to grow our meat brands into the future.”

Thomas Beretta, plant manager, Beretta Farms

Alberta’s agri-processing sector is the second-largest manufacturing industry in the province and meat processing plays an important role in the sector, generating millions in annual economic impact and creating thousands of jobs. Alberta continues to be an attractive place for agricultural investment due to its agricultural resources, one of the lowest tax rates in North America, a business-friendly environment and a robust transportation network to connect with international markets.

Quick facts

  • Since 2023, there are 16 applicants to the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit for projects worth about $1.6 billion total in new investment in Alberta’s agri-processing sector.
  • To date, 13 projects have received conditional approval under the program.
    • Each applicant must submit progress reports, then apply for a tax credit certificate when the project is complete.
  • Beretta Farms has expanded the Lacombe facility by 10,000 square feet to include new warehousing, cooler space and an office building.
    • This project has the potential to increase production capacity by 50 per cent, thereby facilitating entry into more European markets.

Related information

Continue Reading

Alberta

Alberta Independence Seekers Take First Step: Citizen Initiative Application Approved, Notice of Initiative Petition Issued

Published on

Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure, has issued a Notice of Initiative Petition.

This confirms a Citizen Initiative application has been received and the Chief Electoral Officer has determined the requirements of section 2(3) of the Citizen Initiative Act have been met.

Approved Initiative Petition Information

The approved citizen initiative application is for a policy proposal with the following proposed question:

Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?

The Notice of Initiative Petition, application, and statement provided by the proponent are available on Elections Alberta’s website on the Current Initiatives Petition page.

As the application was received and approved prior to coming into force of Bill 54: Election Statutes Amendment Act, the Citizen Initiative process will follow requirements set out in the Citizen Initiative Act as of June 30, 2025.

Next Steps

  1. The proponent must appoint a chief financial officer within 30 days (by July 30, 2025).
  2. Once the 30-day publication period is complete and a chief financial officer has been appointed, Elections Alberta will:
  1. issue the citizen initiative petition,
  2. publish a notice on the Current Initiatives Petition page of our website indicating the petition has been issued, specifying the signing period dates, and the number of signatures required for a successful petition, and
  3. issue the citizen initiative petition signature sheets and witness affidavits. Signatures collected on other forms will not be accepted.

More information on the process, the status of the citizen initiative petition, financing rules, third party advertising rules, and frequently asked questions may be found on the Elections Alberta website.

Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referendums.

Continue Reading

Trending

X