Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Legislative Assembly of Alberta
30th Alberta Legislature
Type
Type	Unicameral house of the Alberta Legislature
History
Founded	September 9, 1905
Preceded by	North-West Legislative Assembly
Leadership
Speaker	Nathan Cooper, UCP since May 30, 2019
Premier	Jason Kenney, UCP since April 30, 2019
Government House Leader	Jason Nixon, UCP since April 30, 2019
Opposition Leader	Rachel Notley, NDP since April 30, 2019
Opposition House Leader	Deron Bilous, NDP since May 13, 2019
Structure
Seats	87
Political groups	United Conservative (62) New Democratic (24) Independent (1)
Elections
Last election	April 16, 2019
Next election	31st Alberta general election
Meeting place
Alberta Legislative Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Website
assembly.ab.ca

The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the Alberta Legislature for the province of Alberta, Canada, and is seated at the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital of Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly is a unicameral assembly of 87 members, elected first past the post from single-member electoral districts.^[1] Bills passed by the legislature are given Royal Assent by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta.^[2]

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 2011 fixed the date of election to between March 1 and May 31 in the fourth calendar year following the preceding election.^[4] Alberta has never had a minority government, so 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 current and 30th Alberta Legislative Assembly was elected on April 16, 2019.

History

The Alberta Legislative Building has housed the chambers of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since its completion in 1913.

The first session of the first Legislature of Alberta opened on March 15, 1906, in the Thistle Rink, Edmonton, north of Jasper Avenue. In this arena Alberta MPs 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]

Current members

The current members of the Legislature were elected in the 30th Alberta general election held on April 16, 2019. Bold indicates cabinet members, and party leaders are italicized.

* Absent from Legislature during 2008–2012 term
† Absent from Legislature during 2015–2019 term

Standings during 30th Assembly

The 30th Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on April 16, 2019. The United Conservative Party, led by Jason Kenney, won a majority of seats and formed the government. The New Democrats, led by outgoing Premier Rachel Notley, won the second most seats and formed the official opposition.^[12]

Seating plan

• Party leaders are italicized. Bold indicates cabinet minister.

References

External links

• Legislative Assembly of Alberta web site
• Legislative Assembly of Alberta history - Citizens guide
• Canadian Governments Compared
• Legislative Assembly of Alberta - History