Premier Jason Kenney announced changes to cabinet on Sept. 21, where Jason Copping will commence his role as Minister of Health.
“I appointed Jason Copping as Minister of Health, and Tyler Shandro as Minister of Labour and Immigration. I want to thank Tyler for his service to Albertans over the last two incredibly challenging years,” Kenney said.
“Minister Copping has proven himself as a thoughtful and capable leader in government who is ready to take on the daunting task of overcoming this fourth wave and preparing the health care system to deal with whatever the virus throws at us in the future,” Kenney said.
Kenney looks forward to the renewed direction of the health ministry under Copping’s leadership and is focused on getting through the fourth COVID-19 wave and preparing for the future.
“When I asked Tyler to serve as Health Minister in April of 2019, nobody could have predicted the crisis that he would be tasked with taking on, and as elected leaders, we don’t get to choose what challenges will come our way, we can only do our best and work hard to address them,” he said.
Kenney accepted Shandro’s resignation as Minister of Health, as they both came to the conclusion that it would be best to have a fresh start at the health ministry.
“It has been a grueling two-plus years for Tyler. I was there myself and saw he and his family being chased and assaulted by anti-vaccine protesters. All of that I know has taken a real toll on Minister Shandro,” Kenney said.
Adding, “Tyler’s dedicated to the job and to serving the people of Alberta has never been in question, he’s one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known, and he has brought his heart to his job.”
Shandro will now begin work with the implementation of the Alberta Advantage Immigration Strategy and the Fairness for Newcomers Action Plan while working with other ministers to advance skills for the jobs agenda to address the emerging labour shortages in many parts of Alberta’s economy.
