Premier of Alberta

The Premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Jason Kenney, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on April 30, 2019.

Premier of Alberta
Premier ministre de l'Alberta
Coat of arms of Alberta.svg
Flag of Alberta.svg
Jason Kenney in 2019.jpg
Incumbent
Jason Kenney

since April 30, 2019
Office of the Premier
StyleThe Honourable (Formal)
Premier (Informal)
StatusHead of Government
Member of
Reports to
SeatEdmonton
AppointerLieutenant Governor of Alberta
with the confidence of the Alberta Legislature
Term lengthAt Her Majesty's pleasure
contingent on the premier's ability to command confidence in the legislative assembly
FormationSeptember 2, 1905
First holderAlexander Cameron Rutherford
DeputyDeputy Premier of Alberta
Salary$127,296 plus $79,560 (indemnity and allowances)[1]
WebsitePremier of Official Site

The premier of the province deals with specific areas relating to Alberta and Alberta's relation on the national scene. The premier acts as a representative for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) are in turn the representatives of the people of Alberta.

Duties and functionsEdit

To be effective, accountable and in line with custom, the premier does hold a seat in the legislature, so the premier serves as the MLA for a riding, and is elected as the MLA by the constituents of that constituency. As with most government leaders in a parliamentary system, the premier usually wins his or her own election as MLA easily. However, on occasion, a premier has not been re-elected to their seat in a general election, forcing them to run in a by-election in a constituency that comes empty by the resignation of the sitting MLA or other incident. The most recent case of this was Don Getty, who lost his Edmonton-Whitemud seat in the 1989 election and then ran and was elected in a by-election in Drumheller-Stettler. In 2014 Jim Prentice was elected party leader without holding a seat in the legislative assembly, thus becoming premier, and won a Calgary-Foothills by-election in order to gain a seat in the assembly.

The Premier of Alberta's responsibilities include administering provincial laws, enacting legislation, and regulating industry. The premier is responsible for promoting Alberta's interests via the federal government and serves as the chief representative of Alberta to the rest of Canada.

Timeline of premiersEdit

Jason KenneyRachel NotleyJim PrenticeDave HancockAlison RedfordEd StelmachRalph KleinDon GettyPeter LougheedHarry StromErnest ManningWilliam AberhartRichard Gavin ReidJohn Edward BrownleeHerbert GreenfieldCharles Stewart (premier)Arthur SiftonAlexander Cameron Rutherford


List of premiersEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ "MLA Remuneration". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Archived from the original on 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
Order of precedence
Preceded by
Lois Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
Order of precedence in Alberta
as of 2013
Succeeded by
Catherine Fraser, Chief Justice of The Court of Appeal of Alberta