EDMONTON — Rebecca Schulz on Monday resigned as Alberta's Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, citing "personal reasons" and an "incoming political situation" she was unable to characterize further before quickly leaving the room. The Premier has appointed Grant Hunter as her replacement.

Hunter, the MLA for Taber-Warner, has previously stated that climate change is "real but mostly a federal issue," that emissions targets are "guidelines, not commitments," and that the environment is, in his words, "mostly just weather, which Alberta has historically been very good at." All three statements were made in the legislature, on the record.

The Premier described Hunter as "the right person for this moment," a moment she did not specify. Asked whether the appointment was intended to signal a change in the government's environmental posture, the Premier said no, it was meant to signal continuity, which insiders interpreted as a stronger signal of the same thing.

Hunter's first act as minister was to convene a meeting with senior departmental staff, several of whom reportedly asked whether they would be permitted to refer to "the climate" in internal documents going forward. The minister's office said it would issue further guidance, and then did not.

Schulz's resignation comes amid widely circulated speculation that several UCP MLAs are quietly positioning themselves for either an early leadership contest or a sudden exit from politics, depending on which is less embarrassing. The Premier denied this was the case but declined to take a follow-up question about it.

The new minister is expected to deliver remarks later this week at an event hosted by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, where he has indicated he will outline a "balanced approach" to environmental policy. According to a draft of his speech obtained by The Alberta Advantage, the balance involves saying the word "environment" exactly once.