Legislative Assembly of Alberta | |
---|---|
31st Alberta Legislature | |
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | September 9, 1905 |
Preceded by | North-West Legislative Assembly |
Leadership | |
Government House Leader | |
Opposition House Leader | |
Structure | |
Seats | 87 |
Political groups | |
Elections | |
Last election | May 29, 2023 |
Next election | On or before October 18, 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Alberta Legislature Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
Website | |
assembly |
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta (French : Assemblée législative de l'Alberta) is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post from single-member electoral districts. [1] Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Alberta, as the viceregal representative of the King of Canada. [2] The Legislative Assembly and the Lieutenant Governor together make up the unicameral Alberta Legislature.
The maximum period between general elections of the assembly, as set by Section 4 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is five years, which is further reinforced in Alberta's Legislative Assembly Act. [3] Convention dictates the premier controls the date of election and usually selects a date in the fourth or fifth year after the preceding election. Amendments to Alberta's Elections Act introduced in 2021 fixed the date of election to between the last Monday in May in the fourth calendar year following the preceding election. [4] Alberta has never had a minority government and an election as a result of a vote of no confidence has never occurred.
To be a candidate for election to the assembly, a person must be a Canadian citizen older than 18 who has lived in Alberta for at least six months before the election and has registered with Elections Alberta under the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. Senators, senators-in-waiting, members of the House of Commons, and criminal inmates are ineligible. [5]
The 30th Alberta Legislature was dissolved on May 1, 2023. The members-elect of the 31st Alberta Legislature were elected on May 29.
The first session of the first Legislature of Alberta opened on March 15, 1906, in the Thistle Rink, Edmonton, north of Jasper Avenue. After the speech from the throne, the assembly held its sessions in the McKay Avenue School. In this school Alberta MLAs chose the provincial capital, [6] Edmonton, and the future site for the Alberta Legislature Building: the bank of the North Saskatchewan River. Allan Merrick Jeffers, [7] a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design was the architect who was chosen to build the assembly building. In September 1912 Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Governor General of Canada, declared the building officially open. [8] [9] [10]
Louise McKinney and Roberta MacAdams were the first women elected to the assembly, in the 1917 election. They were also the first women in any legislature of the British Empire.
The members-elect of the 31st Alberta Legislature were elected in the 31st Alberta general election held on May 29, 2023. Bold indicates cabinet members, and party leaders are italicized.
The 31st Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on May 29, 2023. The United Conservative Party, led by incumbent Premier Danielle Smith, formed the government with a reduced majority. The New Democrats, led by former Premier Rachel Notley, won the second most seats and formed the official opposition. [12]
Affiliation | Members | ||
---|---|---|---|
2023 general election | Current | ||
United Conservative | 49 | 49 | |
New Democratic | 38 | 37 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total seats | 87 |
The politics of Alberta are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of the province is Edmonton, where the provincial Legislative Building is located.
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.
Edmonton Meadowlark was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1971 to 2019.
Calgary Centre was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1959 to 1971.
Calgary Victoria Park was a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1967 to 1971.
The Alberta Legislature Building, located in Edmonton, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the Executive Council of Alberta. It is often shortened to "the Ledge".
Laurie Blakeman is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Edmonton-Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. She is a member of the Alberta Liberal Party, and was first elected in the 1997 election.
Christina Gray is a Canadian politician. She is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. First elected in 2015 as the member representing Edmonton-Mill Woods, she was re-elected in 2019 and 2023.
Glenn Jerry van Dijken is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock in the 30th Alberta Legislature. He was re-elected in 2023.
Angela Pitt is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Airdrie. She was elected under the banner of the Wildrose Party, which then merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form the United Conservative Party (UCP) in July 2017. She serves as the UCP Deputy House Leader. On June 20, 2018, Angela Pitt won the UCP nomination for the riding of Airdrie-East with 71% of the vote, contested by sports broadcaster Roger Millions. April 16, 2019, Pitt was re-elected in the 2019 Alberta general election, representing the Airdrie-East riding under the United Conservative Party.
Brooks-Medicine Hat is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. It was contested for the first time in the 2019 Alberta election and is presently represented by Premier Danielle Smith.
Janis Irwin is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 2019 Alberta general election, and re-elected in the 2023 Alberta General Election. She represents the electoral district of Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood as a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party. She serves as the Official Opposition Critic for Housing. She previously served as the Critic for Status of Women and 2SLGBTQ+ Issues, and is the Official Opposition Deputy Whip.
Jackie Lovely is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Camrose in the 30th Alberta Legislature. She is a member of the United Conservative Party.
Joseph Schow is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Cardston-Siksika in the 30th Alberta Legislature. He is a member of the United Conservative Party, and he has been serving as Government House Leader since October 24, 2022.
Brad Rutherford is a Canadian politician elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Leduc-Beaumont in the 30th Alberta Legislature.
Mickey Amery is a Canadian politician and former lawyer who has been the Alberta Minister of Justice since June 9, 2023. Amery was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Cross in the 30th Alberta Legislature.
Devinder Toor is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Falconridge in the 30th Alberta Legislature. He ran for re-election in 2023 but was defeated.
Edmonton-Avonmore was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1971 to 1997.
Allan Merrick Jeffers (1875–1926) was an American architect who practiced largely in Alberta, Canada.
The 31st Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on 29 May 2023. The United Conservative Party (UCP), led by incumbent Premier Danielle Smith, won a majority of seats (49) and formed the government. The New Democrats, led by former Premier Rachel Notley, won the second most seats (38) and formed the official opposition.