Kaycee Madu facts for kids

Kelechi "Kaycee" Madu is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the United Conservative Party (UCP). He represented the area of Edmonton-South West in Alberta's government from 2019 to 2023. He was first elected in 2019.

Kaycee Madu held important jobs in the government. These included Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister of Justice. He was the first Black person to be a provincial Minister of Justice in Canada.

In 2022, he became the Minister of Labour and Immigration. This happened after a review of a phone call he made to the police chief. The review found that his call did not directly interfere. However, it created a feeling that there might have been interference.

After Danielle Smith became the new leader and Premier, Madu was named Deputy Premier. He served in this role from October 2022 to June 2023. Madu lost his seat in the government in the 2023 Alberta general election. He was defeated by Nathan Ip.

Early Life and Education

Kaycee Madu was born and grew up in Southeastern Nigeria. He studied law at the University of Lagos. He became a lawyer in Nigeria. In 2005, he moved to Edmonton, Canada, with his wife, Emem. She was studying at the University of Alberta.

In Alberta, Madu worked in different roles. He worked for Alberta Hospital, Legal Aid Alberta, and the Government of Alberta.

Political Career

Kaycee Madu was very active in politics. He was part of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta. He helped combine this party with the Wildrose Party in 2017. This created the United Conservative Party. Madu supported Jason Kenney in becoming the leader of this new party.

In the 2019 Alberta election, Madu ran for office in Edmonton-South West. He won against four other candidates. He received 10,245 votes, which was 45% of the total. He was the only United Conservative Party candidate elected in the city of Edmonton.

In the 2023 Alberta election, Madu lost his seat. He was defeated by Nathan Ip from the New Democratic Party of Alberta.

Minister of Municipal Affairs

On April 30, 2019, Madu became the Minister of Municipal Affairs. He held this job until August 25, 2020. Then, he became the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General.

Early in his time as Minister of Municipal Affairs, Madu wrote an article. It was published in newspapers. The article said that spending by Calgary and Edmonton was too high. He asked city leaders to lower spending and taxes. He said this spending was a "burden" on residents. The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton disagreed with his claims.

During his time as Minister of Municipal Affairs, Madu made some changes to funding for cities.

• He ended a law that gave money to Edmonton and Calgary.
• He reduced funding for a program that helped with infrastructure.
• He also cut grants that helped cities with property taxes on government buildings.

Madu also started changes to how oil and gas properties were valued for taxes. This worried many rural towns. They said these changes would cost them millions of dollars.

In June 2020, Madu introduced a new law called Local Authorities Election Amendment Act, 2020. This law changed the rules for local elections. It removed rules about showing who donated money before election day. It also removed limits on how much third-party groups could spend on advertising.

The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) was unhappy with these changes. They said their relationship with Minister Madu was "broken." One month later, Premier Jason Kenney changed his Cabinet. Madu was moved to Minister of Justice. Tracy Allard became the new Minister of Municipal Affairs.

On March 4, 2020, Kaycee Madu received a special honor. He was named a Queen's Counsel. This is a high award for lawyers who have helped improve law and society.

Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta

Madu became Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta in August 2020. He was the first Black person to hold this position. Many people praised his appointment. They felt he brought an important new view to the role.

Traffic Ticket Incident

On March 10, 2021, Madu received a traffic ticket. He was stopped by the Edmonton Police Service for using his phone while driving. This happened in a school zone. After getting the ticket, Madu called the Chief of Police, Dale McFee. He talked about his concerns regarding the stop. He also discussed how people of color are sometimes stopped by police. McFee later said that Madu did not ask for the ticket to be canceled.

This incident became public on January 17, 2022. Many people called for Madu to resign. Premier Jason Kenney placed Madu on leave while the incident was reviewed. Sonya Savage took over his position temporarily.

A judge reviewed the matter. The judge found that Madu did not directly interfere with justice. However, the phone call he made to the police chief created a "reasonable perception of interference."

Minister of Labour and Immigration

On February 25, 2022, Madu's role changed. He moved from Justice Minister to Minister of Labour and Immigration. Tyler Shandro took over as Justice Minister.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Skilled Trades and Professions

On October 24, 2022, Madu was named Deputy Premier. He shared this role with Nathan Neudorf. This appointment was made by Premier Danielle Smith. He served as Deputy Premier until May 1, 2023.

He was defeated in the 2023 Alberta general election. The NDP candidate Nathan Ip won the election in his riding.

After Politics

After losing the 2023 election, Madu returned to working as a lawyer. In October 2024, the Law Society of Alberta decided that his actions during the traffic ticket incident were a breach of his professional duties as a lawyer. In February 2025, a panel from the law society formally reprimanded Madu. They also ordered him to pay $39,000.

Electoral History

2023 General Election

2019 General Election