Bringing Jason Nixon and Ric McIver back into cabinet was smart politics

Nixon was Kenney’s chief lieutenant and is reviled by Smith’s core supporters

Then-leader of the Wildrose Party Danielle Smith at a press conference during the 2014 Edmonton-Whitemud by-election. Newly nominated Wildrose candidate Jason Nixon is standing on the right side of the photo. (source: Dave Cournoyer)

It has been almost two weeks since Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new 24-member cabinet and a lot of ink has been spilled dissecting what the appointments could mean for the start of the United Conservative Party’s second term as government and the next four years.

There are big challenges facing the new cabinet, especially for ministers appointed to high-profile positions.

Minister of Finance Nate Horner will ride the oil revenue roller coaster and probably be the point person in any effort by the Alberta government to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan. Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange is faced with a shortage of nurses and health care workers that is impacting every community in the province. And the tag-team of Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean and Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz will likely spend a lot of time opposing Ottawa’s climate change plans.

But what caught my attention among the appointments was the return of two former cabinet ministers who were pushed into the backbenches when Smith entered the Premier’s Office last October.