26th Alberta Legislature

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.[1]

26th Alberta Legislature
Majority parliament
1 March 2005  4 February 2008
Parliament leaders
PremierRalph Klein
December 14, 1992 December 14, 2006
Ed Stelmach
December 14, 2006 October 7, 2011
CabinetsKlein cabinet
Stelmach cabinet
Leader of the
Opposition
Kevin Taft
March 27, 2004 December 14, 2008
Party caucuses
GovernmentProgressive Conservative Association
OppositionLiberal Party
RecognizedNew Democratic Party
UnrecognizedWildrose Party
Legislative Assembly
Speaker of the
Assembly
Ken Kowalski
April 14, 1997 – May 23, 2012
Government
House Leader
Dave Hancock
May 26, 1999 November 24, 2006
Gene Zwozdesky
April 6, 2006 December 14, 2006
Dave Hancock
December 15, 2006 December 5, 2013
Members83 MLA seats
Sovereign
MonarchElizabeth II
February 6, 1952 September 8, 2022
Lieutenant
Governor
Hon. Lois Hole
February 10, 2000 January 6, 2005
Hon. Norman Kwong
January 20, 2005 May 11, 2010
Sessions
1st session
March 1, 2005 – December 1, 2005
2nd session
February 22, 2006 – September 8, 2006
3rd session
March 7, 2007 – December 7, 2007
4th session
February 4, 2008 – February 4, 2008
 25th  27th

Alberta's twenty-sixth government was controlled by the majority Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, led by Premier Ralph Klein until his resignation on December 24, 2006, after which he was succeeded by Ed Stelmach. The Official Opposition was led by Kevin Taft of the Liberal Party. The Speaker was Ken Kowalski. In the list below, cabinet members' names are bolded; leaders of official parties are italicized.

This legislature had the distinction of being addressed by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, to help celebrate Alberta's centennial.[2]

Party standings after 26th General Elections

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Member Party Constituency Notes
  Tony Abbott Progressive Conservative Drayton Valley-Calmar
  Cindy Ady Progressive Conservative Calgary Shaw
  Bharat Agnihotri Liberal Edmonton Ellerslie
  Moe Amery Progressive Conservative Calgary East
  Dan Backs Independent Edmonton Manning Elected as a Liberal, expelled from caucus in November 2006
  Laurie Blakeman Liberal Edmonton Centre
  Bill Bonko Liberal Edmonton Decore
  Guy Boutilier Progressive Conservative Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo
  Neil Brown Progressive Conservative Calgary-Nose Hill
  Pearl Calahasen Progressive Conservative Lesser Slave Lake
  Wayne Cao Progressive Conservative Calgary-Fort
  Mike Cardinal Progressive Conservative Athabasca-Redwater
  Harvey Cenaiko Progressive Conservative Calgary-Buffalo
  Harry B. Chase Liberal Calgary-Varsity
  Craig Cheffins Liberal Calgary-Elbow Succeeded Ralph Klein in a by-election June 12, 2007.
  David Coutts Progressive Conservative Livingstone-Macleod
  Ray Danyluk Progressive Conservative Lac La Biche-St. Paul
  Alana DeLong Progressive Conservative Calgary-Bow
  Victor Doerksen Progressive Conservative Red Deer South
  Denis Ducharme Progressive Conservative Bonnyville-Cold Lake
  Clint Dunford Progressive Conservative Lethbridge-West
  David Eggen NDP Edmonton-Calder
  Mo Elsalhy Liberal Edmonton-McClung
  Iris Evans Progressive Conservative Sherwood Park
  Jack Flaherty Liberal St. Albert
  Heather Forsyth Progressive Conservative Calgary-Fish Creek
  Yvonne Fritz Progressive Conservative Calgary-Cross
  Hector Goudreau Progressive Conservative Dunvegan
  Gordon Graydon Progressive Conservative Grande Prairie Wapiti
  Doug Griffiths Progressive Conservative Battle River-Wainwright
  George Groeneveld Progressive Conservative Highwood
  Carol Haley Progressive Conservative Airdrie-Chestermere
  David Hancock Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Whitemud
  Jack Hayden Progressive Conservative Drumheller-Stettler Succeeded Shirley McClellan in a by-election June 12, 2007.
  Denis Herard Progressive Conservative Calgary-Egmont
  Paul Hinman Alberta Alliance Cardston-Taber-Warner The Alberta Alliance Party was dissolved, and the Wildrose Alliance Party was formed in early 2008
  Wildrose Alliance
  Doug Horner Progressive Conservative Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert
  Mary Anne Jablonski Progressive Conservative Red Deer-North
  LeRoy Johnson Progressive Conservative Wetaskiwin-Camrose
  Arthur Johnston Progressive Conservative Calgary-Hays
  Ralph Klein Progressive Conservative Calgary-Elbow Resigned as Premier December 14, 2006 and from legislature January 15, 2007; succeeded by Craig Cheffins as MLA for Calgary-Elbow and by Ed Stelmach as Premier.
  Mel Knight Progressive Conservative Grande Prairie-Smoky
  Ken Kowalski Progressive Conservative Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock
  Ron Liepert Progressive Conservative Calgary-West
  Fred Lindsay Progressive Conservative Stony Plain
  Rob Lougheed Progressive Conservative Strathcona
  Thomas Lukaszuk Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Castle Downs
  Ty Lund Progressive Conservative Rocky Mountain House
  Hugh MacDonald Liberal Edmonton-Gold Bar
  Richard Magnus Progressive Conservative Calgary-North Hill
  Gary Mar Progressive Conservative Calgary-Mackay Resigned November 2007; seat left vacant until the 2008 election
  Ray Martin NDP Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview
  Richard Marz Progressive Conservative Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
  Brian Mason NDP Edmonton Highlands Norwood
  Weslyn Mather Liberal Edmonton Mill Woods
  Shirley McClellan Progressive Conservative Drumheller-Stettler Resigned January 15, 2007, succeeded by Jack Hayden.
  Barry McFarland Progressive Conservative Little Bow
  Greg Melchin Progressive Conservative Calgary North West
  Bruce Miller Liberal Edmonton-Glenora
  Richard Miller Liberal Edmonton Rutherford
  Leonard Mitzel Progressive Conservative Cypress-Medicine Hat
  Ted Morton Progressive Conservative Foothills-Rocky View
  Lyle Oberg Progressive Conservative Strathmore-Brooks Suspended from P.C. caucus March 22, 2006; re-admitted July 25, 2006.
  Frank Oberle Progressive Conservative Peace River
  Luke Ouellette Progressive Conservative Innisfail-Sylvan Lake
  Raj Pannu NDP Edmonton Strathcona
  Bridget Pastoor Liberal Lethbridge East
  Hung Pham Progressive Conservative Calgary Montrose
  Ray Prins Progressive Conservative Lacombe-Ponoka
  Rob Renner Progressive Conservative Medicine Hat
  David Rodney Progressive Conservative Calgary Lougheed
  George Rogers Progressive Conservative Leduc-Beaumont-Devon
  Shiraz Shariff Progressive Conservative Calgary McCall
  Lloyd Snelgrove Progressive Conservative Vermilion-Lloydminster
  Ed Stelmach Progressive Conservative Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
  Ron Stevens Progressive Conservative Calgary-Glenmore
  Ivan Strang Progressive Conservative West Yellowhead
  David Swann Liberal Calgary Mountain View
  Kevin Taft Liberal Edmonton Riverview
  Janis Tarchuk Progressive Conservative Banff-Cochrane
  Dave Taylor Liberal Calgary Currie
  Maurice Tougas Liberal Edmonton Meadowlark
  George VanderBurg Progressive Conservative Whitecourt-Ste. Anne
  Len Webber Progressive Conservative Calgary-Foothills
  Gene Zwozdesky Progressive Conservative Edmonton Mill Creek
  • The Alberta Court of Appeal declared Thomas Lukaszuk the victor more than two months after the election. The election-night vote count had given Chris Kibermanis of the Liberals a five-vote win, but the judicial recount gave Lukaszuk a three-vote margin of victory.
  • A party requires four seats to have official party status in the legislature. Parties with fewer than four seats are not entitled to party funding although their members will usually be permitted to sit together in the chamber.

Notable events

  • The province's centennial occurred during the 26th Legislature, on September 1, 2005. Earlier that year, on May 24, 2005, Elizabeth II made an official visit to the province in commemoration of the centennial.[3]
  • On March 1, 2006, premier Ralph Klein announced a series of controversial health care reforms which involved allowing greater levels of privatization in Alberta's public health care system. Later that day, the premier received significant media attention after throwing a book at a 17-year-old page.
  • On March 15, 2006, and throughout the year, the Legislative Assembly celebrated the centennial of the first sitting of the Legislature.
  • On April 6, 2006, Ted Morton introduced the controversial Bill 208, Protection of Fundamental Freedoms (Marriage) Statutes Amendment Act, 2006. Critics maintained that the bill removed limitations on free speech where homosexual individuals were concerned, potentially removing recourse for verbal abuse and discrimination. The bill died on the order paper on May 18, 2006.

Standings changes during the 26th Assembly

Number of members
per party by date
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Nov 22 Feb 2 Mar 22 Jul 25 Nov 20 Jan 15 Jun 12 Sep 27 Jan 19
Progressive Conservative 61 62 61 62 60 61 60
Liberal 17 16 15 16
New Democratic 4
Wildrose Alliance 0 1
  Independent 0 1 0 1
Alberta Alliance 1 0
Total members 83 81 83 82
Vacant 0 2 0 1
Government Majority 39 41 39 41 39 38
  1. February 2, 2005 Chris Kibermanis, Edmonton Castle Downs removed from office after a judicial recount.
  2. February 2, 2005 Thomas Lukaszuk, Edmonton Castle Downs becomes the MLA by court order.
  3. March 22, 2006 Lyle Oberg, Strathmore-Brooks suspended from the Progressive Conservative caucus
  4. July 25, 2006 Lyle Oberg, Strathmore-Brooks rejoins the Progressive Conservatives
  5. January 15, 2007 Ralph Klein, Calgary-Elbow resigns
  6. January 15, 2007 Shirley McClellan, Drumheller-Stettler resigns
  7. June 12, 2007 Craig Cheffins, Calgary-Elbow elected in by-election
  8. June 12, 2007 Jack Hayden, Drumheller-Stettler elected in by-election
  9. November 20, 2006 Dan Backs, Edmonton Manning was expelled from the Liberal caucus.
  10. September 27, 2007 Gary Mar, Calgary Mackay resigns to accept a government appointment.
  11. January 19, 2008 Paul Hinman, Cardston-Taber-Warner forms the Wildrose Alliance caucus.

References

  1. Perry, Sandra E.; Footz, Valerie L. (2006). Massolin, Philip A. (ed.). A Higher Duty: Speakers of the Legislative Assemblies. Edmonton, AB: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. p. 504. ISBN 0-9689217-3-6. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  2. "Centenary of Alberta joining Confederation, Alberta Legislature, Canada, 24 May". The British Monarchy. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  3. Hansard for Tuesday, May 24, 2006, Afternoon. Retrieved on September 26, 2006.

Further reading

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