Former Alberta Premier Prentice killed in plane crash

Across Alberta, numerous politicians shared their thoughts on Twitter, including former Cabinet Minister Thomas Lukaszuk and Alberta Party leader Greg Clark.

Prentice, 60, was on board a twin-engine Cessna Citation that took off from Kelowna bound for Springbank Airport near Calgary.

“The aircraft is destroyed; all persons on board lost their lives”, he said.

“Jim was a dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly to build a better country and province”.

With oil prices tanking, Prentice had called an early election to obtain a mandate from voters for a plan to move the Alberta government away from its dependence on oil revenue. Throughout his political career and even before politics, Jim was a good friend of the Sikh community who was willing to stand beside us even when the community was not yet well known or understood.

“Afterwards we shook hands and he said, let’s work together and he just said if you want to serve Alberta, I’ll let you do that”.

“There are no words adequate for moments like this, as my family knows very well”, Rachel Notley said.

Rona Ambrose, the Conservative Party’s interim leader and also a former fellow MP to Prentice, issued remarks expressing how “shocked and deeply” saddened she was by the news.

However, Prentice – who served as federal Minister of Indian Affairs from 2006-07 – was also firm in his belief that any new pipeline must not only minimize its environmental impacts, but also consider the rights of First Nations people along the route.

“This is a bad loss for our country”.

But it was the Alberta PC leadership race in 2014 that brought them closest together.

The RCMP confirms it is also working with the BC Coroner’s Service. A previous version said Jim Prentice quit politics in May. “Thinking of Karen (Prentice’s wife) and family on this terrible day”.

“As Premier of Alberta, he believed in a collaborative relationship between our two jurisdictions and worked to set a path forward to strengthen our economic and cultural links”, his statement read.

While Prentice’s political colleagues have confirmed his death through outpourings, the authorities are taking a cautious approach, leaving the identities of the other three passengers a mystery. Prentice ran again in 2004, winning the Calgary North-Centre seat which he held until he stepped down six years later.