Peter Guthrie gets kicked out of the UCP Caucus

Confusing hodgepodge of government investigations shows need for independent public inquiry into Dodgy Contracts Scandal

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Peter Guthrie and Premier Danielle Smith at the cabinet swearing-in ceremony in 2023 (source: AlbertaNewsroom / Flickr)

There is a lot happening in Alberta politics this week, including the news that Airdrie-Cochrane United Conservative Party MLA Peter Guthrie has been officially removed from the UCP caucus. The former cabinet minister resigned as Minister of Infrastructure in February 2025 as a protest against allegations of corruption, cover-ups and political interference in government contracts related to health care supplies and private surgical companies.

“I’m not going to stand by and see potential corruption exist within government and be a part of that,” Guthrie told the Globe & Mail when he resigned from cabinet in February. “I felt profound disappointment in their ability to be able to ignore these clear conflicts,” he said.

It wasn’t long after that the UCP Caucus put Guthrie on probation and, this week, he was expelled from the government caucus after voting in favour of a motion introduced by Edmonton-Glenora NDP MLA Sarah Hoffman calling for an independent public inquiry into the Dodgy Contracts Scandal.

“If we have nothing to hide, we should take that path,” Guthrie said of the proposed public inquiry. “I would like to see people feel free to be able to share their thoughts with the auditor general without feeling that there may be retribution for them,” he said about allegations the government is using external lawyers to slow down the Auditor General’s ongoing investigation.

In the Legislature this week, Guthrie tabled his cabinet resignation letter, in which he claimed that government ministers at a health cabinet committee meeting in January 2025 were "deliberately misled," leading to the government firing Alberta Health Services board members the next day.

The UCP Caucus released a statement following Guthrie’s removal from the government caucus:

“MLA Guthrie has made it clear that he does not support the Government’s decision to wait for the investigations of both the Auditor General and Judge Raymond Wyant to conclude prior to taking further action on the issue of AHS procurement practices and the allegations made by the former AHS CEO. It is also clear that he wishes to continue to publicly voice his opposition to the government on that issue.”

Guthrie’s expulsion wasn’t a surprise, as he has clearly lost confidence in Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP government, but it did push the story back into the headlines this week. His bonafides as a conservative and a supporter of Smith has lent credibility to his comments about the corruption allegations.