Admitting he has a problem with alcohol, Devin Dreeshen resigned as Alberta’s minister of agriculture and forestry this morning. He has been replaced by Drumheller-Stettler MLA Nate Horner.
“This morning, I offered Premier Jason Kenney my resignation as minister of agriculture and forestry and he has accepted,” Dreeshen said on Twitter on Nov. 5. “I accept that my personal conduct with regards to alcohol has become an issue for the government as a whole.
“I deeply regret that this is the case, but have decided that it is best for both myself and the province to resign my position and focus on both my personal health and wellness.”
Read Also
Prairie forecast: Potential to turn cool and wet
For this forecast period we are starting off with a large area of high pressure over Ontario and an equally large area of low pressure over the Yukon. The clockwise flow around the Ontario high, combined with the counterclockwise flow around the Yukon low, is creating a widespread southerly flow across the Prairies. This should lead to one more day of warm temperatures across the western Prairies and a couple more days over the eastern half.
The 33-year-old was elected to represent Innisfail-Sylvan Lake in a by-election in 2018, and was named ag minister after Kenney’s United Conservative Party became government in April 2019.
Last month, alleged incidents of Dreeshen drinking heavily in his legislature office were part of a $400,000 lawsuit brought against the Office of the Premier of Alberta by a former government chief of staff.
The suit alleges the premier’s office failed to act on complaints about sexual harassment and a toxic workplace, and the statement of claim alleges inappropriate conduct by Dreeshen. In it, Ariella Kimmel, chief of staff to the minister of jobs, economy and innovation from August 2020 until February, alleged Dreeshen indulged in “excessive drinking” on a night in the fall of 2020. She said she intervened and asked him to stop. Later that evening, the document alleges, he confronted her and “aggressively yelled at her to the point where she was in tears and a concerned bystander intervened.”
The two had been in an on-and-off relationship, according to Kimmel.
Dreeshen denied he had a drinking problem to reporters after returning to the legislature on Nov. 1 (after these allegations against him had gone public).
“With my behaviour, there are long hard days in the legislature and I think that’s something that everybody has had to deal with,” he said.
That same day he posted a picture of himself on Twitter holding a virtual meeting with his iPad propped on a drinks cooler, with what appears to be a bottle of wine sitting on the floor under a nearby desk.
On the morning Dreeshen resigned, CBC published an article quoting multiple unnamed UCP government staff saying he was known to frequently drink in his office at the legislature, and described numerous occurrences of the alleged behaviour over 2019 and 2020.
The new ag minister comes from a family with an extensive history in Alberta politics. Nate Horner’s grandfather Jack was a well-known and long-time MP and he is related to both Hugh Horner and Doug Horner, both former agriculture ministers. Prior to being elected, he was a rancher with a cow-calf mixed farming operation and most recently served as associate minister of rural economic development. He was also the Canadian Intercollegiate Rodeo Association saddle bronc champion in 2002 and 2004.
Dreeshen will stay on as MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake.
