Once, he was ‘Brother Carlier’. Now, he’s ‘Mister Minister’!
Oneil Carlier has just been appointed Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development by Premier Rachel Notley as part of the ‘Orange Chinook’ that swept the NDP to an unexpected majority government in Alberta’s May 5 election.
Carlier has a unique connection to both his farm constituents and the labour movement. While coming from a farming family who raised cattle and grew crops for several generations, he worked for 20 years as a geotechnical technician with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Throughout those two decades, Carlier honed his activist skills through his work for the Agriculture Union. In 2002, he was hired as a regional representative with our bargaining agent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, in Alberta.
Carlier is one of only 12 Ministers in a perfectly gender-balanced Cabinet that is the smallest in Alberta history.
We wish ‘Mr. Minister’ great success in his new portfolio. ‘Brother Carlier’ is a fine example of the labour movement’s credo: What we have for ourselves, we desire for all!