26th Alberta Legislature

26th Alberta Legislature
26th Alberta Legislature
Majority parliament
1 March 2005 – 4 February 2008
Parliament leaders
Premier	Ralph Klein ; December 14, 1992 – December 14, 2006
	Ed Stelmach ; December 14, 2006 – October 7, 2011
Cabinets	Klein cabinet ; Stelmach cabinet
Leader of the; Opposition	Kevin Taft ; March 27, 2004 – December 14, 2008
Party caucuses
Government	Progressive Conservative Association
Opposition	Liberal Party
Recognized	New Democratic Party
Unrecognized	Wildrose Party
Legislative Assembly
Speaker of the; Assembly	Ken Kowalski ; April 14, 1997 – May 23, 2012
Government; House Leader	Dave Hancock ; May 26, 1999 – November 24, 2006
	Gene Zwozdesky ; April 6, 2006 – December 14, 2006
	Dave Hancock ; December 15, 2006 – December 5, 2013
Members	83 MLA seats
Sovereign
Monarch	Elizabeth II ; February 6, 1952 – September 8, 2022
Lieutenant; Governor	Hon. Lois Hole ; February 10, 2000 – January 6, 2005
	Hon. Norman Kwong ; January 20, 2005 – May 11, 2010
Sessions
	1st session; March 1, 2005 – December 1, 2005
	2nd session; February 22, 2006 – September 8, 2006
	3rd session; March 7, 2007 – December 7, 2007
	4th session; February 4, 2008 – February 4, 2008
← 25th	→ 27th

Last updated April 26, 2024

The 26th Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from March 1, 2005, to February 4, 2008, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 2004 Alberta general election held on November 22, 2004. The Legislature officially resumed on March 1, 2005, and continued until the fourth session was prorogued and dissolved on February 4, 2008, prior to the 2008 Alberta general election on March 3, 2008.^[1]

Alberta's twenty-sixth government was controlled by the majority Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, led by Premier Ralph Klein until his resignation on December 24, 2006, after which he was succeeded by Ed Stelmach. The Official Opposition was led by Kevin Taft of the Liberal Party. The Speaker was Ken Kowalski. In the list below, cabinet members' names are bolded; leaders of official parties are italicized.

This legislature had the distinction of being addressed by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, to help celebrate Alberta's centennial.^[2]

Party standings after 26th General Elections

****

Member	Party	Constituency	Notes
Tony Abbott	Progressive Conservative	Drayton Valley-Calmar
Cindy Ady	Progressive Conservative	Calgary Shaw
Bharat Agnihotri	Liberal	Edmonton Ellerslie
Moe Amery	Progressive Conservative	Calgary East
Dan Backs	Independent	Edmonton Manning	Elected as a Liberal, expelled from caucus in November 2006
Laurie Blakeman	Liberal	Edmonton Centre
Bill Bonko	Liberal	Edmonton Decore
Guy Boutilier	Progressive Conservative	Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo
Neil Brown	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Nose Hill
Pearl Calahasen	Progressive Conservative	Lesser Slave Lake
Wayne Cao	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Fort
Mike Cardinal	Progressive Conservative	Athabasca-Redwater
Harvey Cenaiko	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Buffalo
Harry B. Chase	Liberal	Calgary-Varsity
Craig Cheffins	Liberal	Calgary-Elbow	Succeeded Ralph Klein in a by-election June 12, 2007.
David Coutts	Progressive Conservative	Livingstone-Macleod
Ray Danyluk	Progressive Conservative	Lac La Biche-St. Paul
Alana DeLong	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Bow
Victor Doerksen	Progressive Conservative	Red Deer South
Denis Ducharme	Progressive Conservative	Bonnyville-Cold Lake
Clint Dunford	Progressive Conservative	Lethbridge-West
David Eggen	NDP	Edmonton-Calder
Mo Elsalhy	Liberal	Edmonton-McClung
Iris Evans	Progressive Conservative	Sherwood Park
Jack Flaherty	Liberal	St. Albert
Heather Forsyth	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Fish Creek
Yvonne Fritz	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Cross
Hector Goudreau	Progressive Conservative	Dunvegan
Gordon Graydon	Progressive Conservative	Grande Prairie Wapiti
Doug Griffiths	Progressive Conservative	Battle River-Wainwright
George Groeneveld	Progressive Conservative	Highwood
Carol Haley	Progressive Conservative	Airdrie-Chestermere
David Hancock	Progressive Conservative	Edmonton-Whitemud
Jack Hayden	Progressive Conservative	Drumheller-Stettler	Succeeded Shirley McClellan in a by-election June 12, 2007.
Denis Herard	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Egmont
Paul Hinman	Alberta Alliance	Cardston-Taber-Warner	The Alberta Alliance Party was dissolved, and the Wildrose Alliance Party was formed in early 2008
Paul Hinman		Cardston-Taber-Warner
Wildrose Alliance
Doug Horner	Progressive Conservative	Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert
Mary Anne Jablonski	Progressive Conservative	Red Deer-North
LeRoy Johnson	Progressive Conservative	Wetaskiwin-Camrose
Arthur Johnston	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Hays
Ralph Klein	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Elbow	Resigned as Premier December 14, 2006 and from legislature January 15, 2007; succeeded by Craig Cheffins as MLA for Calgary-Elbow and by Ed Stelmach as Premier.
Mel Knight	Progressive Conservative	Grande Prairie-Smoky
Ken Kowalski †	Progressive Conservative	Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock
Ron Liepert	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-West
Fred Lindsay	Progressive Conservative	Stony Plain
Rob Lougheed	Progressive Conservative	Strathcona
Thomas Lukaszuk	Progressive Conservative	Edmonton-Castle Downs
Ty Lund	Progressive Conservative	Rocky Mountain House
Hugh MacDonald	Liberal	Edmonton-Gold Bar
Richard Magnus	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-North Hill
Gary Mar	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Mackay	Resigned November 2007; seat left vacant until the 2008 election
Ray Martin	NDP	Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview
Richard Marz	Progressive Conservative	Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
Brian Mason	NDP	Edmonton Highlands Norwood
Weslyn Mather	Liberal	Edmonton Mill Woods
Shirley McClellan	Progressive Conservative	Drumheller-Stettler	Resigned January 15, 2007, succeeded by Jack Hayden.
Barry McFarland	Progressive Conservative	Little Bow
Greg Melchin	Progressive Conservative	Calgary North West
Bruce Miller	Liberal	Edmonton-Glenora
Richard Miller	Liberal	Edmonton Rutherford
Leonard Mitzel	Progressive Conservative	Cypress-Medicine Hat
Ted Morton	Progressive Conservative	Foothills-Rocky View
Lyle Oberg	Progressive Conservative	Strathmore-Brooks	Suspended from P.C. caucus March 22, 2006; re-admitted July 25, 2006.
Frank Oberle	Progressive Conservative	Peace River
Luke Ouellette	Progressive Conservative	Innisfail-Sylvan Lake
Raj Pannu	NDP	Edmonton Strathcona
Bridget Pastoor	Liberal	Lethbridge East
Hung Pham	Progressive Conservative	Calgary Montrose
Ray Prins	Progressive Conservative	Lacombe-Ponoka
Rob Renner	Progressive Conservative	Medicine Hat
David Rodney	Progressive Conservative	Calgary Lougheed
George Rogers	Progressive Conservative	Leduc-Beaumont-Devon
Shiraz Shariff	Progressive Conservative	Calgary McCall
Lloyd Snelgrove	Progressive Conservative	Vermilion-Lloydminster
Ed Stelmach	Progressive Conservative	Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
Ron Stevens	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Glenmore
Ivan Strang	Progressive Conservative	West Yellowhead
David Swann	Liberal	Calgary Mountain View
Kevin Taft	Liberal	Edmonton Riverview
Janis Tarchuk	Progressive Conservative	Banff-Cochrane
Dave Taylor	Liberal	Calgary Currie
Maurice Tougas	Liberal	Edmonton Meadowlark
George VanderBurg	Progressive Conservative	Whitecourt-Ste. Anne
Len Webber	Progressive Conservative	Calgary-Foothills
Gene Zwozdesky	Progressive Conservative	Edmonton Mill Creek

The Alberta Court of Appeal declared Thomas Lukaszuk the victor more than two months after the election. The election-night vote count had given Chris Kibermanis of the Liberals a five-vote win, but the judicial recount gave Lukaszuk a three-vote margin of victory.
A party requires four seats to have official party status in the legislature. Parties with fewer than four seats are not entitled to party funding although their members will usually be permitted to sit together in the chamber.

Notable events

The province's centennial occurred during the 26th Legislature, on September 1, 2005. Earlier that year, on May 24, 2005, Elizabeth II made an official visit to the province in commemoration of the centennial.^[3]
On March 1, 2006, premier Ralph Klein announced a series of controversial health care reforms which involved allowing greater levels of privatization in Alberta's public health care system. Later that day, the premier received significant media attention after throwing a book at a 17-year-old page.
On March 15, 2006, and throughout the year, the Legislative Assembly celebrated the centennial of the first sitting of the Legislature.
On April 6, 2006, Ted Morton introduced the controversial Bill 208, Protection of Fundamental Freedoms (Marriage) Statutes Amendment Act, 2006. Critics maintained that the bill removed limitations on free speech where homosexual individuals were concerned, potentially removing recourse for verbal abuse and discrimination. The bill died on the order paper on May 18, 2006.

Standings changes during the 26th Assembly

Number of members per party by date		2004	2005	2006			2007			2008
Number of members per party by date		Nov 22	Feb 2	Mar 22	Jul 25	Nov 20	Jan 15	Jun 12	Sep 27	Jan 19
	Progressive Conservative	61	62	61	62		60	61	60
	Liberal	17	16			15		16
	New Democratic	4
	Wildrose Alliance	0								1
	Independent	0		1	0	1
	Alberta Alliance	1								0
	Total members	83					81	83	82
	Vacant	0					2	0	1
	Government Majority	39	41	39	41		39		38

February 2, 2005 Chris Kibermanis, Edmonton Castle Downs removed from office after a judicial recount.
February 2, 2005 Thomas Lukaszuk, Edmonton Castle Downs becomes the MLA by court order.
March 22, 2006 Lyle Oberg, Strathmore-Brooks suspended from the Progressive Conservative caucus
July 25, 2006 Lyle Oberg, Strathmore-Brooks rejoins the Progressive Conservatives
January 15, 2007 Ralph Klein, Calgary-Elbow resigns
January 15, 2007 Shirley McClellan, Drumheller-Stettler resigns
June 12, 2007 Craig Cheffins, Calgary-Elbow elected in by-election
June 12, 2007 Jack Hayden, Drumheller-Stettler elected in by-election
November 20, 2006 Dan Backs, Edmonton Manning was expelled from the Liberal caucus.
September 27, 2007 Gary Mar, Calgary Mackay resigns to accept a government appointment.
January 19, 2008 Paul Hinman, Cardston-Taber-Warner forms the Wildrose Alliance caucus.

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References

↑ Perry, Sandra E.; Footz, Valerie L. (2006). Massolin, Philip A. (ed.). A Higher Duty: Speakers of the Legislative Assemblies. Edmonton, AB: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. p. 504. ISBN 0-9689217-3-6 . Retrieved August 9, 2020.
↑ "Centenary of Alberta joining Confederation, Alberta Legislature, Canada, 24 May". The British Monarchy. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
↑ Hansard for Tuesday, May 24, 2006, Afternoon. Retrieved on September 26, 2006.

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[1] Perry, Sandra E.; Footz, Valerie L. (2006). Massolin, Philip A. (ed.). A Higher Duty: Speakers of the Legislative Assemblies. Edmonton, AB: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. p. 504. ISBN 0-9689217-3-6 . Retrieved August 9, 2020.

[2] "Centenary of Alberta joining Confederation, Alberta Legislature, Canada, 24 May". The British Monarchy. Retrieved July 28, 2012.

[3] Hansard for Tuesday, May 24, 2006, Afternoon. Retrieved on September 26, 2006.

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