Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan will be resigning from the provincial Treasury Board after taking a trip to Arizona over the holidays despite a provincial travel advisory.

On January 2nd, Stephan released a statement about his trip noting that he purchased his tickets to Arizona before the recent surge in COVID-19 cases back in October.

“I support individuals and families having the freedom to choose for themselves whether they travel or not, provided they are respectful of others in doing so. International travel, in and of itself, does not negatively impact Alberta’s COVID curve if it is done responsibly,” stated Stephan in a social media post.

Stephan’s post was met with negativity and on January 4th his constituency office was decorated with a ‘Welcome Home’ display criticizing the MLA for his trip abroad.

He was joined by other MLA’s who travelled abroad over the holidays including Tracy Allard, Jeremy Nixon, Tanya Fir, Pat Rehn, Tany Yao and the Premier’s Chief of Staff, Jamie Huckabay who all recieved similar public criticism. 

On January 4th, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney responded to many angry Albertans by releasing a statement which noted some resignations.

“Over the weekend, I have listened to Albertans who are sending a clear message that they want real consequences for these actions.

That is why I have accepted the resignations of Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard and have asked my Chief of Staff Jamie Huckabay to step down which he has done.

I have also accepted the resignation of MLA Jeremy Nixon as Parliamentary Secretary for Civil Society and MLA Jason Stephan from the Treasury Board. They as well as Tanya Fir, Pat Rehn, and Tany Yao have lost their Legislature Committee responsibilities,” stated Kenney.

The Premier expressed that those who spent the holidays abroad displayed ‘extremely poor judgement’ when millions of Albertans have been making sacrifices over the past ten months.