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United Conservative Party (UCP) MLAs have voted to allow MLA Jennifer Johnson into government caucus, some 17 months after she was forced to sit as an independent by Premier Danielle Smith.
Johnson was elected for the UCP in Lacombe-Ponoka in the May 2023 election but wasn’t allowed to sit with government MLAs due to backlash from remarks she made in 2022 that compared the presence of transgender students in Alberta schools to adding feces to a batch of cookies.
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On Wednesday, Johnson addressed MLAs ahead of the vote on her return and cited her community work and personal growth, according to a UCP news release.
“Over the past 17 months, I have grown both personally and professionally,” Johnson stated, adding she was pleased to be joining the UCP caucus.
“I am eager to apply what I have learned to benefit everyone who calls this province home.”
The party says her status as a UCP MLA takes effect immediately.
It brings the party up to 49 MLAs in the legislature compared to 37 for the New Democrats as well as one vacant seat.
“After having a very thoughtful discussion with our caucus team, our MLAs voted to acknowledge her hard work, recognize her efforts, and welcome her into the government caucus,” Chief Government Whip Shane Getson said.
Smith initially said her decision to keep Johnson out of caucus was final, but has gradually softened that stance, citing a belief in redemption and second chances.
She strongly hinted at Johnson’s return over the summer at a town hall for party members and again weeks later in a livestreamed interview with Keean Bexte
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“I think she’s done everything I asked her to do,” Smith said.
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Members of the LGBTQ+ community have spoken out against Johnson and challenged claims that her views have changed.
Video of part of a meeting between Johnson and members of five LGBTQ+ groups was posted online and showed university instructor and transgender rights activist Victoria Bucholtz asking Johnson if she believed trans women are women.
“I’ve never been asked that before,” Johnson replied. “I want to have some time to think on that.”
Bucholtz said that the answer showed Johnson’s views had not changed since her initial remark.
“If you can’t start with that basic foundational principle that we are who we say we are in our bones, then I don’t think we’re on the same page.”
All five groups later denounced the meeting in a joint statement.
“We do not have confidence that (Johnson) would defend queer Albertans’ rights in this provincial government,” it read.
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“Queer rights are human rights, and they are not up for debate.”
Smith has said she plans to introduce three pieces of legislation this fall that will impose age restrictions on gender reassignment surgery, require teachers to notify parents should a student change their name or pronouns at school, and implement restrictions on trans individuals participating in sports.
— with files from the Canadian Press
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