Health-care advocate Dr. Paul Parks aims to unseat Alberta health minister

A former head of the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) and a high-profile government critic says he wants to get off the sidelines and run for political office against one of the governing United Conservatives’ health ministers.

An emergency department doctor for 26 years, Dr. Paul Parks says he is seeking the NDP nomination the southeastern Alberta riding of Cypress-Medicine Hat.

The seat is currently held by UCP Primary Health Minister Justin Wright.

Parks led negotiations with the government as past president of the AMA, which represents doctors across the province.

He has been critical of Premier Danielle Smith’s health policy. He has also been a prominent voice for front-line health workers and patients, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NDP’s nomination contest in Cypress-Medicine Hat is to be held in less than three weeks.

Story continues below advertisement

6:11 Alberta Medical Association’s Dr. Paul Parks on overcrowded hospitals and patient deaths

Parks said in an interview that he’s putting his hat into the ring reluctantly.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

He said that after years of trying to collaborate with government to improve the system, his experience showed him that the governing UCP isn’t interested in getting front-line expertise.

Parks has been vocal about what he has called an escalating crisis in emergency rooms, particularly after 44-year-old Prashant Sreekumar died in December of an apparent cardiac arrest while waiting hours for treatment in an Edmonton emergency room.

He has also spoken out against the government’s new dual-practice model for physicians, which presently is limited to surgeons to offer private services while also working in the public system. Parks said he fears that change will effectively end public care.

“We are at an existential moment in this province in the sense … that robust, publicly funded health care will be killed,” he said.

Story continues below advertisement

Parks said his focus wouldn’t just be on the health care system, as he also said he believed in having a strong public education system, and responsible government spending.

1:46 New Alberta electoral map now public

Even if he wins the nomination, Parks still plans to practice medicine for as long as he can.

“I love my job,” he said.

Cypress-Medicine Hat is a conservative stronghold, with Wright winning the seat in the 2023 election with more than 60 per cent of votes, almost 6,000 ballots ahead of the second-place NDP candidate.

In a statement Monday, Wright wished Parks well in seeking the nomination, and pointed to the UCP’s focus on recruiting more family doctors, beefing up rural health-care, and improving access to services.

Story continues below advertisement

“I trust the people of Cypress-Medicine Hat to look past the political rhetoric and see the difference we are making here at home and through the work we’re doing to improve health care for all Albertans,” Wright said.

Earlier this month, Smith announced the province’s hospitals are working to have the capacity they need for this year’s respiratory virus season.

“Albertans can be confident that our health-care system is better prepared than ever to help them throughout the winter,” she said.

Smith said her government is funding a triage liaison physician program first announced in January, and agencies are working to fill shifts.

It will bring physicians and other health-care workers into busy emergency department waiting areas to speed up treatment.