Alberta Legislature (Image Credit: The Canadian Press)

By Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

Provincial Politics

Independent Alberta legislature member says he isn’t joining Progressive Tory party

Jan 30, 2026 | 12:11 PM

A former United Conservative member of Alberta’s legislature says he will remain an Independent MLA when the house reconvenes in February.

Scott Sinclair, who represents the Lesser Slave Lake riding, was expelled from the governing UCP caucus last spring after threatening to not support the budget.

In a letter posted to social media, Sinclair says he doesn’t want to join any political party so that he can work constructively across partisan lines and freely advocate for his constituents in northern Alberta.

Sinclair also cited proposed electoral boundary changes, saying he will focus on protecting his riding from being what he calls “diluted or erased.”

Last year, Sinclair and fellow former UCP member Peter Guthrie said they aimed to establish a new iteration of the Progressive Conservative Party, but they hit multiple legal hurdles.

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After the UCP government passed legislation banning the use of words like conservative in party names in December, Guthrie announced his party would be known as the Progressive Tory Party of Alberta.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2026.