Alberta.

AuthorRempel, Jody
PositionLegislative Reports

Prorogation of the 2nd Session of the 28th Legislature

In a departure from the practice of proroguing on the day prior to the commencement of a new session, the 2nd Session of the 28th Legislature was prorogued on September 18, 2014, and a Proclamation was issued for the commencement of a new session on November 17, 2014. Prorogation in Alberta has not lasted for more than one day since March of 1984.

Leadership Contests

On September 6, 2014, the Progressive Conservative (PC) Association of Alberta held its leadership vote. Although technical glitches and access challenges with the online voting system used by the PC Party were reported, the majority victory for Jim Prentice (former Member of Parliament for Calgary North Centre), with over 75 per cent of the vote, went unchallenged by the other leadership contenders, Ric Mclver (Calgary-Hays) and Thomas Lukaszuk (Edmonton-Castle Downs). Although not elected to the Legislative Assembly at the time, as the leader of the governing party in the province, Mr. Prentice was sworn in as Alberta's 16th Premier on September 15, 2014.

On October 18, 2014, the Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) leadership race saw over 3,500 votes cast to select the 8th leader of the party. Having received approximately 70 per cent of the votes cast, Rachel Notley (Edmonton-Strathcona) won a majority over competitors David Eggen (Edmonton-Calder) and Rod Loyola. Ms. Notley's father, Grant Notley, was a former MLA and also the leader of the Alberta NDP from 1968 until his death in a plane crash in 1984.

Changes to Cabinet

On September 15, 2014, Premier Prentice announced his Cabinet. In addition to reducing the size of Cabinet, the Premier appointed unelected individuals to lead two government ministries. Stephen Mandel (former Mayor of Edmonton) became the Minister of Health and Gordon Dirks (former MLA for Regina Rosemont, Saskatchewan, and former Chair of the Calgary Board of Education) was appointed the Minister of Education.

In addition to being President of Executive Council, Premier Prentice holds both the Aboriginal Relations and the International and Intergovernmental Relations portfolios. Robin Campbell (West Yellowhead), previously the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, was appointed the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board. Diana McQueen (Drayton Valley-Devon) moved from Energy to Municipal Affairs, while Frank Oberle (Peace River) went from Aboriginal Relations to Energy, and...

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