RJ Sigurdson
The Honourable Richard Junior Sigurdson | |
|---|---|
 RJ Sigurdson in 2024 | |
| Minister of Affordability and Utilities | |
| Assumed office May 21, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Nathan Neudorf |
| Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation | |
| In office June 9, 2023 – May 21, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Nate Horner |
| Succeeded by | Tara Sawyer |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Highwood | |
| Assumed office April 16, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Wayne Anderson |
| Personal details | |
| Party | United Conservative Party |
Richard Junior (RJ) Sigurdson ECA MLA is a Canadian politician who has been the Alberta Minister of Affordability and Utilities since May 2026. He was previously Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation from June 2023 to May 2026. He was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Highwood in the 30th Alberta Legislature.[1]
Career
In February 2021, in an Okotoks Today article, Sigurdson said that he shared the concerns of his constituents regarding the June 2020 rescinding of the 1976 coal policy.[2] Sigurdson supports "protecting the watershed of southern Alberta and the integrity of the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies."
In response to the Level 1 more stringent COVID-19 restrictions announced by Premier Jason Kenney on April 6, 2021, Sigurdson and 16 other UCP MLAs signed an open letter to the premier, calling on him to roll back the restrictions.[3] All of the MLAs who cosigned the appeal represent ridings outside the two largest cities of Calgary and Edmonton.[3]
A recall petition against Sigurdson was approved by Elections Alberta on November 14, 2025. Signature collection runs from November 25, 2025 to February 22, 2026, requiring 15,788 signatures. [4]
Electoral history
2023 General Election
| 2023 Alberta general election: Highwood | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | R.J. Sigurdson | 17,990 | 68.90 | -4.36 | ||||
| New Democratic | Jessica Hallam | 7,540 | 28.88 | +11.37 | ||||
| Wildrose Independence | Mike Lorusso | 580 | 2.22 | – | ||||
| Total | 26,110 | 99.22 | – | |||||
| Rejected and declined | 204 | 0.78 | ||||||
| Turnout | 26,314 | 67.31 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 39,093 | |||||||
| United Conservative hold | Swing | -7.86 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta[5] | ||||||||
2019 General Election
| 2019 Alberta general election: Highwood | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | R.J. Sigurdson | 18,635 | 73.26% | -0.78% | ||||
| New Democratic | Erik Overland | 4,453 | 17.51% | -1.51% | ||||
| Alberta Party | Ron Kerr | 1,988 | 7.82% | 3.51% | ||||
| Alberta Independence | Dan Irving | 362 | 1.42% | – | ||||
| Total | 25,438 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 208 | 35 | 9 | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 35,422 | 72.43% | 16.62% | |||||
| United Conservative hold | Swing | 23.83% | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "65 - Highwood, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 296–301. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021. | ||||||||
References
- ↑ "Alberta election: Highwood results | Globalnews.ca".
- ↑ "Highwood MLA says he's hearing constituent concerns on coal policy". Okotoks Today. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- 1 2 "Seventeen UCP MLAs release statement opposing pandemic restrictions". 660 NEWS. April 7, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ↑ https://www.elections.ab.ca/recall-initiative/recall/current-recall-petitions/
- ↑ "65 - Highwood". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
