Adriana LaGrange appointed Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services

“I’m eager to collaborate with this dedicated team to fulfill the commitments we made to Albertans during the last election,” said Smith in a media release.

“Our government has already addressed many key priorities of Albertans, but we know there is more work to do, and I’m excited to continue working alongside each of my cabinet colleagues as we move forward an ambitious agenda for Albertans.”

LaGrange, who’s also MLA for Red Deer-North, will no longer be Minister of Health, but rather serve as the Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services.

The province says the four health care agencies will have a minister in charge of each one including Primary Care Alberta, Acute Care Alberta, Assisted Living Alberta, and Recovery Alberta.

Minister LaGrange, who was appointed as Minister of Health in 2023, will continue to lead health care refocusing.

“I’m pleased to continue the important work of refocusing our health care system with the support of my colleagues,” LaGrange said. “Moving forward, we will work together to ensure that patients in our health care system have an integrated seamless experience and get the care they need when and where they need it.”

The move comes after repeated calls for LaGrange to step down as Minister of Health amid corruption allegations by former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos.

On Thursday, Albertans from Red Deer, Calgary, and Edmonton made the trip to LaGrange’s office in Red Deer calling on her to resign.

Organized by Public Interest Alberta, a non-profit organization focused on public interest issues, the group travelled by bus to deliver the message to LaGrange that they’ve had enough.

They also relayed the same message to residents of her riding by knocking door-to-door and delivering 15,000 flyers.

Demetrios Nicolaides will be adding childcare to his portfolio and become the Minister of Education and Childcare.

Jason Nixon will also see his title changed to the Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services to reflect his oversight of Assisted Living Alberta.

Meanwhile, Naheed Nenshi, party leader of Alberta’s New Democrats, issued a statement saying the premier’s cabinet shuffle is an attempt to distract the public from alleged corruption.

“No amount of rearranging will distract from the fact that this UCP government has failed miserably and corruption is baked into her cabinet,” he said.

“She’s shown that Albertans’ priorities aren’t hers. This isn’t a cabinet built to tackle affordability, health care, public safety, and education. Instead, they spent the entire spring sitting preying on vulnerable Albertans, passing anti-democratic legislation, peddling separatism, and covering up the biggest scandal in Alberta’s history.”

Watch Premier Smith’s cabinet announcement below:

by rdnewsNOW staff

Adriana LaGrange appointed Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services

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