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Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services

Red Deer-North MLA Adriana LaGrange grateful for new role on cabinet

May 21, 2026 | 2:57 PM

Newly appointed Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, Adriana LaGrange, says she’s grateful for her new role.

LaGrange, who also serves as the MLA Red Deer-North, previously served as Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services and before that was Minister of Health.

However, on Thursday, Premier Danielle Smith shuffled her cabinet, reappointing LaGrange to run the province’s hospitals.

“I look forward to continuing the important work Alberta’s government has been doing to reduce surgical and emergency response wait times and strengthen health care services for patients and families across the province,” she said in an emailed statement.

“As Health System Oversight Minister, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues across the other three health pillars as we build a stronger, more responsive health care system that delivers timely, high-quality care to Albertans when and where they need it most.”

As a result, Smith appointed Justin Wright as the new Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services.

In addition, four others are now serving in new roles on the cabinet, including Minister of Affordability and Utilities, RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Tara Sawyer, Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services, Nathan Neudorf, and President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, Jason Nixon.

“I’m thankful for my time serving as Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services and for the progress we made expanding Albertans’ access to self-referred preventative health testing, completing the refocusing of the health care system, and strengthening Alberta’s health workforce,” LaGrange added. “Through Budget 2026, we invested $7.7 billion in physician compensation, an increase of $1.4 billion over Budget 2025, while attracting a record 13,848 physicians to practise across the province, a 21 per cent increase since 2019.”