Alberta PC MLAs Jonathan Denis, Christine Cusanelli on life after politics
It's been almost eight weeks since the NDP shocked the province with their majority win to form the Alberta government.
With that shakeup, many former PC MLAs suddenly found themselves out of a job. So where are they now?
Christine Cusanelli
This former Tory MLA for Calgary-Currie and minister of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation says she is going back to school.
When she was elected in 2012, Cusanelli was given a four-year leave from the Calgary Catholic School District where she was a principal at St. Michael's School in city's southwest.
"I think I was born and bred to be a public servant. When I left the school board I knew that I was going into politics specifically to make a difference."
Cusanelli says she missed the May 1 deadline for when principals are picked, so this fall she will be working as a junior administrator with the school board.
"I'm pretty refreshed about by the idea of being able to take back my private life and still do good in the community," she said.
Jonathan Denis
Alberta's former minister of justice doesn't know for sure if his political life is over.
"It does get into your blood," said Jonathan Denis. "The last seven years I have served this province have been the most rewarding of my life."
Denis says he's leaving the door to public life open. In the meantime, he's lobbying outside the province for several companies in the private sector "within the confines Alberta Accountability Act."
In an interview Monday on the Calgary Eyeopener, Denis praised his NDP successor Kathleen Ganley for pledging to continue the work he did under the Progressive Conservatives to reform Alberta's court system.
"I like what I see so far," said Denis.
Other MLAs
- Thomas Lukaszuk is still looking for work. In the meantime, the former PC MLA for Edmonton-Castle Downs says he's taking a month-long vacation because he hasn't spent much time with his family over the past 15 years.
- Linda Johnson says she's "working on her golf game" right now. The Tory MLA was defeated in Calgary-Glenmore by six votes to the NDP's Anam Kazim. Johnson says her future is unclear but she's looking for a career in community relations.
- Former Fort McMurray-Conklin MLA Don Scott has opened a law firm.
