The Chestnut Tree was almost empty. A ray of sunlight slanting through a window fell on dusty table-tops. It was the lonely hour of fifteen. A tinny music trickled from the telescreens. — George Orwell, 1984
There is no Chestnut Tree Café in Edmonton. There is no need. There is the Chamber of the Alberta Legislature.
Lesser Slave Lake MLA Scott Sinclair rose during Members’ Statements in the House yesterday to read an abject apology to his erstwhile United Conservative Party caucus mates for criticizing Premier Danielle Smith and for his brief flirtation with the idea of a Progressive Conservative restoration in Alberta.
“Mr. Speaker, it is one of the greatest honors of my life to represent the people of Lesser Slave Lake,” the MLA who nowadays sits as an Independent member for that riding 250 kilometres northwest of Edmonton began his soliloquy yesterday. Alas, he continued, “there are moments in this role I’m not proud of, in particular, some of the things I said about former colleagues and teammates in government.”
Readers will recall how Mr. Sinclair, the only Indigenous UCP candidate in the 2023 election, was banished from the party’s caucus just over a year ago for threatening to vote against Finance Minister Nate Horner’s budget on the reasonable grounds it wasn’t doing enough for his rural riding. (Isn’t that what Conservative parties always used to insist MLAs and MPs should be able to do?)
“Holding government to account is a fundamental part of our system,” he said. “But I was not elected as a member of the Opposition. I was elected as a member of the United Conservative Party, a team I was proud to be part of, and one that the people of Lesser Slave Lake supported.”
“I will always stand up for my constituents … but I regret how I chose to do that. At times, public criticism of the premier and the government, particularly around the budget, was a short sighted and passionate response.”
This is Alberta, so a hockey metaphor is always apt. “No individual performance, regardless of passion and emotion, wins championships or experiences success like a strong team does,” the former Junior A hockey player explained to his former seatmates. “I understand that for us to serve our constituents and best serve our province, we need to work and win as a team.
And there is only one team, it turns out. Last summer Mr. Sinclair briefly teamed up with rebel cabinet minister Peter Guthrie, who quit cabinet in February 2025 over how the premier was dealing with the former Alberta Health Services CEO’s allegations about dodgy contracts being pushed by government insiders and was expelled from caucus in April that year for demanding a judge-led inquiry into the allegations.
They talked bravely about jolting the PCs back to life as a provincial Conservative party that loyal Canadians could support. There was a positive poll and several opinion columns about what a great idea that would be. But that was then and this is now. The UCP maintains a legal death grip on the name Progressive Conservative. Mr. Guthrie soldiers on alone as the leader and sole MLA of sad-sack Alberta Party, lamely rebranded the Progressive Tory Party of Alberta.
As for Mr. Sinclair, redemption is possible and he has seen the light again. “With time and perspective I’ve come to better understand the responsibility that comes with those decisions in a Westminster system, and the impact they have, not just on the government but on the people we serve,” he said.
“For that, I’m sorry. What I failed to recognize a year ago is that this government is making record investments in northern Alberta. This government has provided critical funding for Highway 88, a brand new corridor with Highway 686, and for the protection of communities from forest fires in Lesser Slave Lake and all over the north for years to come.”
“My focus now is where it should have always been, building relationships, working constructively, and finding common ground to deliver real results for my riding,” he assured his former seatmates. “Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with this government and supporting this premier as we continue to make progress for Lesser Slave Lake, the north and for all Albertans. Thank you.”
Message received. Humiliating self-criticism publicly delivered. We can expect Mr. Sinclair to be beamed back aboard the Mothership shortly, possibly even before the end of the week.
So the days are over when Mr. Sinclair would tell video podcast host Ryan Jesperson that “the premier is going to be held accountable for morphing the party from what was supposed to be a mainstream, big-tent party into a separatist party.” He has obviously made his peace with the separatists.
This may seem like an odd time to do that – right at the moment his old/new separatist allies have doxxed pretty much the entire population of Alberta. But, then again, one expects it was made pretty clear to him that it was now or never or the UCP would make sure he wouldn’t be the MLA for Lesser Slave Lake after the next election, which will likely be soon. Indeed, maybe the timing is the point.
Everything is all right, the struggle is finished. He has won the victory over himself.
