First session
Among the legislation adopted during the first session of the 30th Legislature, An Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax (Bill 1) repealed the Climate Leadership Act and its carbon levy, Bill 2 amended the Employment Standards Code and the Labour Relations Code to change how overtime hours are calculated from time-and-a-half to straight time, reduced the minimum wage for workers aged 13 to 17 to $13 an hour (from $15 an hour) and changed rules for union certification processes, [2] Bill 26 exempted the Labour Relations Code from applying to farming or ranching employees and exempted farms with less than five employees from the Employment Standards Code and the requirement to hold workplace insurance, [3] Bill 8 replaced the School Act with the Education Act which, among other changes, included eliminating of certain protections of gay–straight alliances and eliminating the restriction on the number of charter schools that are permitted, [4] [5] and Bills 7 and 29 amended the Municipal Government Act to allow individual municipalities to offer tax deferrals or exemptions for the purpose of encouraging the development of non-residential properties. [6] [7] Bill 19 renamed the Climate Change and Emissions Management Act to the Emissions Management and Climate Resilience Act and established new rules for targets, prices and credits applicable to industrial emitters. [8] Bill 22 was an omnibus bill that amended, repealed or enacted numerous acts and included the transferring of the Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund and funds invested by the Workers Compensation Board to the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, dissolving the Office of the Election Commissioner and the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, repealing the Alberta Sport Connection Act, Social Care Facilities Review Committee Act, the Alberta Competitiveness Act, and the Alberta Capital Finance Authority Act while enacting the Local Authorities Capital Financing Act. [9] [10] Bill 25, among other measures aimed at red tape reduction, repealed the Developmental Disabilities Foundation Act and the Small Power Research and Development Act, as well as dissolved the Health Professions Advisory Board, created provisions to allow digital signature to give consent for organ donation, and provided greater flexibility for the Glenbow Museum to loan out its collection. [11]
Among financial measures, Bill 3 lowered the province's corporate tax rate from 12% to 8%, [12] and Bill 12 created a 10-year freeze on oil and gas royalty rates for newly drilled wells. [13] Legislative measures arising from the 2019 Alberta budget were implemented in Bills 20 and 21. Bill 20 repealed Edmonton's and Calgary's City Charters Fiscal Framework Act and replaced it with the new Local Government Fiscal Framework Act and the Public Transit and Green Infrastructure Project Act; repealed the Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit Act and replaced it with the Film and Television Tax Credit Act; [14] repealed the Access to the Future Act regarding advanced education, the Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Act regarding cancer prevention, and the Investing in a Diversified Alberta Economy Act regarding tax credits for investment in small non-oil/gas-related businesses; [15] eliminated the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Fund which was a security deposit fund for land reclamation resulting from industrial activities, and the Lottery Fund which had re-direct gaming revenue to charities; and raised tobacco taxes. [16] Bill 21, among other measures, ended the province tuition freeze, increased student loan interest rates by 1%, ended indexation of the bottom tax bracket and of the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, and allows replacement workers to be used in the public sector. [17]
In addition to the Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act (Bill 9), [18] new acts that were created included the Red Tape Reduction Act (Bill 4) to require reports on government initiatives to prevent unnecessary regulatory and administrative requirements. The Fair Registration Practices Act (Bill 11) established the Fair Registration Practices Office to facilitate the use of foreign credentials within professional organizations, [19] and the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation Act (Bill 14) established the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation to facilitate investment by indigenous groups in natural resource projects. [20] The Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act (Bill 28) allowed Alberta to join British Columbia's class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. [21]
Private member's bills
Two Private member's bills were passed by the Alberta Legislature during the first session. United Conservative Party MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk's Protection of Students with Life-threatening Allergies Act (Bill 201) requires all publicly funded schools to have adrenalin autoinjectors (EpiPens) at the ready, should someone have an unexpected, life-threatening allergic reaction. [22] Bill 201 received Royal Assent on June 28, 2019, and came into force on January 1, 2020.
UCP MLA Mike Ellis' Child, Youth and Family Enhancement (Protecting Alberta's Children) Amendment Act, 2019 (Bill 202, also known as Serenity's Law) built onto the previous legislated requirement for adults to report child abuse to a child welfare director, allowing an individual to report abuse to police and increasing the fines for failure to report from $2,000 to $10,000. The bill was proposed in response to the 2014 death of a four year old named Serenity who died after falling from a tire swing in Maskwacis, and a subsequent panel to investigate the province's child intervention system. Bill 202 received Royal Assent and came into force on October 30, 2019. [23]
Second session
The second session opened on February 25, 2020, with no changes to the Executive Council of Alberta. The session would soon be interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta and numerous health and COVID-related legislation would be adopted. Addressing the pandemic, the Tenancies Statutes (Emergency Provisions) Amendment Act, 2020 (Bill 11) and Commercial Tenancies Protection Act (Bill 23) prohibited residential and commercial evictions and rent increases; Public Health (Emergency Powers) Amendment Act, 2020 (Bill 10) and COVID-19 Pandemic Response Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 (Bill 24) gave any minister in the Executive Council the ability to make a law outside of the legislature (though this would be repealed in Bill 66), [24] expanded certain powers held by the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer to apply beyond public health emergencies, created a right to unpaid COVID-related leave for employees; Emergency Management Amendment Act, 2020 (No. 2) (Bill 13) created new offences related to price fixing, travel, and refusing to render expert aid or be conscripted during a state of emergency; Utility Payment Deferral Program Act (Bill 14) created an electricity and natural gas Utility Payment Deferral Program; Bill 70 provided liability protection to long-term care and supportive-living facilities and their employees; and Bill 71 inserted "COVID-19 Vaccination Leave" into the Employment Standards. [25] [26] [27] [28] Other health-related legislation included the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 (Bill 30) that created regulations to allow for-profit corporations to charge the province for health services and conduct surgeries in private clinics, as well as bring the Health Quality Council under the direction of the Minister of Health. [29] Bill 17 was adopted as the government's response to JH v Alberta Health Services that found several sections of the Mental Health Act to be unconstitutional. [30] Bill 19 renamed the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act to the Tobacco, Smoking and Vaping Reduction Act and inserted new regulations to address vaping. [31]
New acts created during the second session included the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (Bill 1) which creates a definition of "essential infrastructure" and increases penalties for related trespassing (Trespass to Premises Act) and vandalism including warrantless arrests; [32] the Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act (Bill 8) which allows a court to issue a Human Trafficking Protection Order with conditions to protect victims; [33] the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act (Bill 21) created SafeRoads AB and the Immediate Roadside Sanction program to administer penalties for impaired driving, rather than the court system; [34] the Alberta Investment Attraction Act (Bill 33) created the Invest Alberta Corporation to promote investment activities; [35] the Geothermal Resource Development Act (Bill 36) and the Mineral Resource Development Act (Bill 82) to expand the jurisdiction of the Alberta Energy Regulator to include geothermal-related activities and the mining of certain metals and minerals. [36] [37] the Financing Alberta's Strategic Transportation Act (Bill 43) to allow tolls to be used on roads and bridges; [38] the Citizen Initiative Act (Bill 51) and Recall Act (Bill 52) to create mechanisms for citizens to petition for an initiative or recall election; [39] [40] the Freedom to Care Act (Bill 58) to create liability protection and regulatory exemptions that apply to volunteers doing unpaid work for non-profits; [41] the Captive Insurance Companies Act (Bill 76) to legalize captive insurance and; [42] the Trails Act (Bill 79) to regulate recreational trails on public lands. [43]
Fiscal Measures and Taxation Act, 2020 (Bill 5) implemented the legislative amendments resulting from the 2020 budget, including extending the province's tourism levy to short-term rentals booked through online platforms. [44] Bill 22 was an omnibus bill that addressed numerous topics aimed at "red tape reduction" and, among other items, repealed the Recreation Development Act, dissolved Energy Efficiency Alberta, and removed the restrictions that members of corporate or non-profit boards of directors, as well as applicants for grazing dispositions on public lands, be residents of Alberta. [45] Bill 25 requires scrap metal dealers to report transactions of certain metals to police. [46] Bill 2 ended prohibition in Cardston and Warner Counties. [47] Bill 18 created the Alberta Parole Board to take over the responsibilities of the Parole Board of Canada while Bill 16 expanded the mandate of the Victims of Crime Fund to also include funding for initiatives that promote public safety. [48] Bill 12 allows the Orphan Well Association to operate abandoned wells and pipelines. [49] Concerning future elections, Bill 26 expanded the scope of what a provincial referendum can consider and increased the spending limits of third-party advertisers, while Bill 29 increased donation limits applicable to local government elections, extended the deadline for donation disclosure statements until after the election has occurred, and required unspent campaign funds be donated to a charity. [50]
Jason Thomas Kenney is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Lougheed from 2017 until 2022. Kenney was the last leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party before the party merged with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP. Prior to entering Alberta provincial politics, he served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015.
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party formed the provincial government, without interruption, from 1971 until the party's defeat in the 2015 provincial election under premiers Peter Lougheed, Don Getty, Ralph Klein, Ed Stelmach, Alison Redford, Dave Hancock and Jim Prentice. At 44 years, this was the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history.
Brian Michael Jean is a Canadian politician who has previously served as Alberta's and Minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development. On June 9, 2023 Jean was appointed as Alberta's Minister of Energy and Minerals, with Larry Kaumeyer as his Deputy-Minister, the former CEO of Ducks Unlimited. He has served as member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche since March 16, 2022. He was leader of the Opposition and the last leader of the Wildrose Party from 2015 to 2017 before its merger into the United Conservative Party (UCP). Jean was a member of Parliament (MP) with the Conservative Party from 2004 to 2014 before entering provincial politics.
Michael George Ellis is a Canadian politician who has represented Calgary-West in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since 2014, sitting as a member of the United Conservative Party (UCP). Ellis was sworn in as Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services in Alberta. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a police officer.
Thomas Kyle Dang is a former Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-South West. Dang is the youngest MLA to ever be elected in Alberta. He later sat as an independent MLA.
Jason John Nixon is a Canadian politician and the current Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services of Alberta. He is member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre.
Leela Sharon Aheer is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and re-elected in the 2019 Alberta general election.
The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 seats, defeating incumbent Premier Rachel Notley. The governing Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) were reduced to 24 seats and formed the Official Opposition. The United Conservative Party was formed in 2017 from a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Wildrose Party after the NDP's victory in the 2015 election ended nearly 44 years of Progressive Conservative rule.
The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. When established, the UCP immediately formed the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The UCP won a majority mandate in the 2019 Alberta general election to form the government of Alberta. The party won a renewed majority mandate in the 2023 Alberta general election under the leadership of Danielle Smith.
A United Conservative Party leadership election was held in Alberta on October 28, 2017 following votes on July 22, 2017 by memberships of both the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta to merge and form the United Conservative Party. The Unity Agreement between the parties states the leadership election will be held on a One Member One Vote basis.
Pat Rehn is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Lesser Slave Lake in the 30th Alberta Legislature. Elected as a member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), he was removed from caucus and banned from running for the party after a history of alleged poor representation of his constituency and ignoring public health advisories against non-essential international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta. He later rejoined caucus after an internal caucus vote.
Tyler Shandro is a Canadian politician who served as the minister of justice and solicitor general of Alberta from February 2022 to June 2023. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), Shandro was elected to represent Calgary-Acadia in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 2019 provincial election. He was Alberta's minister of health from 2019 to 2021, and minister of labour and immigration from 2021 until he was named justice minister in 2022. He lost re-election in the 2023 provincial election.
Kelechi "Kaycee" Madu is a Canadian lawyer and politician. As a member of the United Conservative Party (UCP), Madu represented Edmonton-South West in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 2019 to 2023. He was first elected in the 2019 provincial election. He was Alberta's minister of municipal affairs from 2019 to 2020, minister of justice and solicitor general of Alberta from 2020 to 2022.
The 2023 Alberta general election was held on May 29, 2023. Voters elected the members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Conservative Party under Danielle Smith, the incumbent Premier of Alberta, was re-elected to a second term with a reduced majority. Across the province, 1,763,441 valid votes were cast in this election.
The Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act is a bill, informally known as the "bargaining rights bill", introduced by the Province of Alberta's United Conservative Party (UCP) government under Premier Jason Kenney, during the 30th Alberta Legislature, constituted after the general election on April 16, 2019. Bill 9 was passed on June 20, 2019. According to Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews, Bill 9 suspends and delays hearings related to wage arbitration for public sector workers until October 31, 2019 in order to allow time for the provincial government to study the August 2019 finance report of the MacKinnon panel. Bill 9 affects 180,000 public service employees in Alberta that are represented by unions in 24 collective agreements.
The premiership of Jason Kenney spanned from April 2019 until October 2022, when Jason Kenney and his cabinet were sworn in by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell. Kenney was invited to form the 30th Alberta Legislature and became the 18th Premier of Alberta, following the 2019 Alberta general election where Kenney's United Conservative Party (UCP) won a majority of seats in the Alberta Legislature leading to the resignation of Premier Rachel Notley. Kenney stepped down as leader of the UCP party on May 18, 2022, after receiving 51.4% of the UCP party members' votes. His premiership ended shortly after Danielle Smith won the subsequent leadership election and was sworn in as premier.
The Canadian Energy Centre Limited (CEC), also commonly called the "Energy War Room", is an Alberta provincial corporation mandated to promote Alberta's energy industry and rebut "domestic and foreign-funded campaigns against Canada's oil and gas industry". The creation of an organization to promote Alberta's oil and gas industries was a campaign promise by United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney during the 2019 Alberta general election. After winning a majority of seats in the election, Kenney's government inaugurated the CEC with a $2.84 million budget in December 2019. The CEC originally had an annual budget of CA$30 million which was decreased to $CA12 million. The CEC has been the subject of several controversies since its establishment, including accusations of plagiarizing logo designs. The CEC attracted widespread media attention when it launched a campaign against the Netflix animated children's movie Bigfoot Family because it cast Alberta's oil and gas industry in a negative light.
The Kenney Ministry was the combined Cabinet, chaired by 18th Premier of Alberta Jason Kenney, that governed Alberta from April 2019 until October 2022.
The 2022 United Conservative Party leadership election was held on October 6 in Alberta to select a new leader of the United Conservative Party and Premier of Alberta. The leadership election was triggered following the May 18 leadership review in which the United Conservative Party membership voted 51.4 per cent in support of incumbent Premier Jason Kenney's leadership. In Kenney's speech following the announcement of the results, Kenney issued his resignation as leader of the United Conservative Party. Nominations for leadership of the United Conservative Party closed on July 20, with seven candidates meeting the nomination criteria. Party members selected their preference for leader using instant-runoff voting between September 2 and October 3.
The premiership of Danielle Smith began on 11 October 2022 when she was sworn in by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Salma Lakhani. Smith won the 2022 United Conservative Party leadership election to replace then Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on October 6, 2022, and was appointed as the 19th Premier of Alberta. Her cabinet was sworn in on 22 October.
