[troutman]

News Release: Call for Ethics Investigation into Minister Todd Loewen

https://albertawilderness.ca/news-re...UfnDayXT5rmiKw

Since taking office, Minister Loewen has made decisions that put Alberta’s wildlife species at risk. This includes expanding cougar hunting quotas and area, allowing members of the public to hunt “problem” grizzly bears, and removing furbearer trapping limits, among other changes.

His decisions favour a small group of hunters, trappers, and outfitters, including extensive promotion to attract international hunters, at the expense of many local hunters and trappers, Indigenous nations, birdwatchers and naturalists, tourism operators, wildlife photographers, biologists, and other Albertans who benefit from these animals.

Minister Loewen has not hidden his connections to the hunters and trappers, particularly international organizations that promote trophy hunts or the hunting of large predators. He was the former owner of Red Willow Outfitters, which is now under the ownership of his wife and son. His actions disregard his responsibilities to Albertans and his commitments under the Conflict of Interest Act.

The Minister has not provided any evidence to justify these changes, nor to justify that they are in the public interest. They were made against the advice of wildlife biologists and the currently available science, and they lacked public consultation.

Since taking office, Minister Loewen has made several international trips aimed at promoting the Minister’s Special License. In 2025, he made 5 separate trip to visit 6 locations on taxpayer dollars, costing $20,953.90, according to the Alberta government’s Travel and Expense Disclosure Table[5]. This does not include a July trip announced for Oklahoma “Promoting bird hunting and conservation[6]”. Only $4,473.84 was spent by the Minister other business this year. In total, he has spent $37,600.79 on international trips to promote hunting since becoming Minister of Forestry and Parks.