27th Alberta Legislature

The 27th Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from April 14, 2008, to March 26, 2012, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 2008 Alberta general election held on March 3, 2008. The Legislature officially resumed on April 14, 2008, and continued until the fifth session was prorogued on March 22, 2012 and dissolved on March 26, 2012,[1] prior to the 2012 Alberta general election on April 23, 2012.

27th Alberta Legislature
Majority parliament
April 14, 2008 – March 26, 2012
Parliament leaders
Premier
(cabinet)		Ed Stelmach
(Stelmach cabinet)
December 14, 2006 – October 7, 2011
Alison Redford
(Redford cabinet)
October 7, 2011 – March 23, 2014
Leader of the
Opposition		David Swann
December 15, 2008 – September 10, 2011
Raj Sherman
September 12, 2011 – April 23, 2012
Party caucuses
GovernmentProgressive Conservative Association
OppositionLiberal Party
RecognizedWildrose Party
New Democratic Party
UnrecognizedAlberta Party
Legislative Assembly
Speaker of the
Assembly		Ken Kowalski
April 14, 1997 – May 23, 2012
Government
House Leader		Dave Hancock
March 12, 2008 – September 5, 2013
Members83 MLA seats
Sovereign
MonarchElizabeth II
February 6, 1952 – present
Lieutenant
Governor		Hon. Norman Kwong
January 20, 2005 – May 11, 2010
Hon. Donald Ethell
May 11, 2010 – June 12, 2015
Sessions
1st Session
April 14, 2008 – December 4, 2008
2nd Session
February 10, 2009 – November 26, 2009
3rd Session
February 4, 2010 – December 2, 2010
4th Session
February 22, 2011 – December 8, 2011
5th Session
February 7, 2012 – March 22, 2012
<26th 28th>

Alberta's twenty-sixth government was controlled by the majority Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, led by Premier Ed Stelmach until his resignation on October 7, 2011, where he was succeeded by Alison Redford. The Official Opposition was led by David Swann of the Liberal Party, and later Raj Sherman. The Speaker was Ken Kowalski.

Election aftermath

The result of the 2008 election resulted in the Progressive Conservative party strengthening their ranks and picking up many districts. The results had fooled most of the pundits who were predicting quite the opposite.

Premier Ed Stelmach shuffled the Cabinet on March 13, 2008. The more notable members of his cabinet included Ron Liepert, Lindsay Blackett and Mel Knight. The opposition criticized Stelmach for not reducing the size of cabinet which had become bloated to record levels.

1st Session

The 1st Session of the 27th Alberta Legislature began on April 14, 2008 with the re-election of Ken Kowalski as speaker of the assembly defeating Laurie Blakeman on the first ballot.[2]

The first throne speech during the assembly was read by Normie Kwong the next day. The 1st session was marked by a number of initiatives that cast the government in a negative light.

No Meet Committee

In March 2012 it came to light that the "Select Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing", a committee of the Legislative Assembly had not sat for over three years, despite each member of the committee receiving a $1,000 stipend. The committee was chaired by Ray Prins, a backbench Progressive Conservative MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka who received an additional $38,000 per year for the appointment. The committee's 21 members included individuals from all political parities in the Assembly.[3] In response, Premier Alison Redford instituted a freeze on committee pay and announced members would have to return six months of pay. After public criticism continued, Redford ordered all Progressive Conservative MLAs to pay back all pay received since the committee last met.[4]

Budget

Budget 2012

Budget 2012: Investing in People was presented in the Legislature by Minister of Finance Ron Liepert on February 9, 2012. The budget projected CA$40.3-billion in revenue, with $41.1-billion in expenses and a total deficit of $886-million.[5] The budget would outline government direction towards results-based budgeting and reviews of all government programs and services, and lay the groundwork for three-year funding cycles for municipalities, school boards and post-secondary institutions.[6] The budget projected a path to balance in the next fiscal year, with a projected surplus of $952-million. The projected economic growth for 2012 in Alberta was 3.8%, and West Texas Intermediate benchmark at USD$99.25 per barrel.[7]

Membership in the 27th Alberta Legislative Assembly
Member Party Constituency
  Cindy Ady Progressive Conservative Calgary-Shaw
  Ken Allred Progressive Conservative St. Albert
  Moe Amery Progressive Conservative Calgary-East
  Rob Anderson Progressive Conservative Airdrie-Chestermere
  Wildrose Alliance
  Carl Benito Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Mill Woods
  Evan Berger Progressive Conservative Livingstone-Macleod
  Naresh Bhardwaj Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Ellerslie
  Manmeet Bhullar Progressive Conservative Calgary-Montrose
  Lindsay Blackett Progressive Conservative Calgary-North West
  Laurie Blakeman Liberal Edmonton-Centre
  Guy Boutilier Progressive Conservative Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo
     Independent
     Independent Wildrose Alliance
  Wildrose
  Neil Brown Progressive Conservative Calgary-Nose Hill
  Pearl Calahasen Progressive Conservative Lesser Slave Lake
  Robin Campbell Progressive Conservative West Yellowhead
  Wayne Cao Progressive Conservative Calgary-Fort
  Harry B. Chase Liberal Calgary-Varsity
  Cal Dallas Progressive Conservative Red Deer South
  Ray Danyluk Progressive Conservative Lac La Biche-St. Paul
  Alana DeLong Progressive Conservative Calgary-Bow
  Jonathan Denis Progressive Conservative Calgary-Egmont
  Arno Doerksen Progressive Conservative Strathmore-Brooks
  Wayne Drysdale Progressive Conservative Grande Prairie Wapiti
  Doug Elniski Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Calder
  Iris Evans Progressive Conservative Sherwood Park
  Kyle Fawcett Progressive Conservative Calgary-North Hill
  Heather Forsyth Progressive Conservative Calgary-Fish Creek
  Wildrose Alliance
  Yvonne Fritz Progressive Conservative Calgary-Cross
  Hector Goudreau Progressive Conservative Dunvegan
  Doug Griffiths Progressive Conservative Battle River-Wainwright
  George Groeneveld Progressive Conservative Highwood
  David Hancock Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Whitemud
  Jack Hayden Progressive Conservative Drumheller-Stettler
  Kent Hehr Liberal Calgary-Buffalo
  Ron Stevens Progressive Conservative Calgary-Glenmore
  Paul Hinman Wildrose Alliance
  Fred Horne Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Rutherford
  Doug Horner Progressive Conservative Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert
  Mary Anne Jablonski Progressive Conservative Red Deer North
  Broyce Jacobs Progressive Conservative Cardston-Taber-Warner
  Jeff Johnson Progressive Conservative Athabasca-Redwater
  Arthur Johnston Progressive Conservative Calgary-Hays
  Darshan Kang Liberal Calgary-McCall
  Heather Klimchuk Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Glenora
  Mel Knight Progressive Conservative Grande Prairie Smoky
  Ken Kowalski Progressive Conservative Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock
  Genia Leskiw Progressive Conservative Bonnyville-Cold Lake
  Ron Liepert Progressive Conservative Calgary West
  Fred Lindsay Progressive Conservative Stony Plain
  Thomas Lukaszuk Progressive Conservative Edmonton-Castle Downs
  Ty Lund Progressive Conservative Rocky Mountain House
  Hugh MacDonald Liberal Edmonton-Gold Bar
  Barry McFarland Progressive Conservative Little Bow
  Diana McQueen Progressive Conservative Drayton Valley-Calmar
  Richard Marz Progressive Conservative Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
  Vacant
     Brian Mason NDP Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood
  Leonard Mitzel Progressive Conservative Cypress-Medicine Hat
  Ted Morton Progressive Conservative Foothills-Rocky View
     Rachel Notley NDP Edmonton Strathcona
  Frank Oberle Progressive Conservative Peace River
  Verlyn Olson Progressive Conservative Wetaskiwin-Camrose
  Luke Ouellette Progressive Conservative Innisfail-Sylvan Lake
  Bridget Pastoor Liberal Lethbridge-East
  Progressive Conservative
  Ray Prins Progressive Conservative Lacombe-Ponoka
  Dave Quest Progressive Conservative Strathcona
  Alison Redford Progressive Conservative Calgary-Elbow
  Rob Renner Progressive Conservative Medicine Hat
  David Rodney Progressive Conservative Calgary Lougheed
  George Rogers Progressive Conservative Leduc-Beaumont-Devon
  Peter Sandhu Progressive Conservative Edmonton Manning
  Janice Sarich Progressive Conservative Edmonton Decore
  Raj Sherman Progressive Conservative Edmonton Meadowlark
     Independent
     Independent Liberal
  Liberal
  Lloyd Snelgrove Progressive Conservative Vermilion-Lloydminster
     Independent
  Ed Stelmach Progressive Conservative Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
  David Swann Liberal Calgary-Mountain View
  Kevin Taft Liberal Edmonton-Riverview
  Janis Tarchuk Progressive Conservative Banff-Cochrane
  Dave Taylor Liberal Calgary-Currie
     Independent
  Alberta Party
  George VanderBurg Progressive Conservative Whitecourt-Ste. Anne
  Tony Vandermeer Progressive Conservative Edmonton Beverly Clareview
  Greg Weadick Progressive Conservative Lethbridge-West
  Len Webber Progressive Conservative Calgary Foothills
  Teresa Woo-Paw Progressive Conservative Calgary Mackay
  David Xiao Progressive Conservative Edmonton McClung
  Gene Zwozdesky Progressive Conservative Edmonton Mill Creek

Seating plan
Allred Sandhu Xiao Anderson Forsyth Leskiw
McQueen Fawcett Dallas Denis Johnson Doerksen Quest Taft Pastoor Chase Kang
Cao Mitzel Johnston Weadick Drysdale Brown Vandermeer MacDonald Taylor Swann Blakeman Hehr Mason Notley
Kowalski
Ady Groenveld Redford Ouellette Knight Horner Evans Snelgrove Stelmach Hancock Liepert Renner Zwozdesky Tarchuk Goudreau Morton Lindsay
Boutilier Marz Olson Rogers Webber Klimchuk Blackett Campbell Oberle Fritz Hayden Danyluk Jablonski Prins Horne Sarich
Berger Lund VanderBurg McFarland Rodney Bhardwaj Woo-Paw Bhullar DeLong Griffiths Lukaszuk Calahasen Sherman Elniski Amery Benito Jacobs

Official Seating Plan (Retrieved December 9, 2009)

Standings changes during the 27th Assembly
Number of members
per party by date		 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Mar 3 May 15 Jul 18 Sep 14 Jan 4 Apr 12 Jun 24 Oct 25 Nov 22 Jan 24 Mar 15 Sep 12 Nov 21 Jan 27 Mar
  Progressive Conservative 72 71 70 68 67 68 67 66
Liberal 9 8 9 8
  Wildrose 0 1 3 4
     NDP 2
  Alberta Party 0 1
     Independent 0 1 2 1 2 1 0 1
     Independent Liberal 0 12 0
     Independent Wildrose Alliance 0 11 0
Total members 83 82 83 82
Vacant 0 1 0 1
Government Majority 61 60 58 57 53 51 53 51 50
  1. Guy Boutilier began caucusing with the Wildrose Alliance on June 24, 2010 but kept independent status due to a $40,000.00 difference in private members research funding.[8]
  2. Raj Sherman joined the Liberal party, but did not officially join the Liberal caucus, however, he did become the Liberal leader on September 10, 2011.
Membership changes in the 27th Assembly
Date Name District Party Reason
  March 3, 2008 See List of Members Election day of the 27th Alberta general election
  May 15, 2009 Ron Stevens Calgary-Glenmore Progressive Conservative Resigned seat to accept a judicial appointment.
     July 18, 2009 Guy Boutilier Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo Independent Removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus.
  September 14, 2009 Paul Hinman Calgary-Glenmore Wildrose Alliance Elected in a by-election.
  January 4, 2010 Rob Anderson Airdrie-Chestermere Wildrose Alliance Crossed the floor from the Progressive Conservative caucus
  January 4, 2010 Heather Forsyth Calgary-Fish Creek Wildrose Alliance Crossed the floor from the Progressive Conservative caucus
     April 12, 2010 Dave Taylor Calgary-Currie Independent Left Liberal caucus to sit as an Independent.
     June 24, 2010 Guy Boutilier Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo Independent Wildrose Alliance Joined the Wildrose Alliance as an Independent.[8]
  October 25, 2010 Guy Boutilier Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo Wildrose Alliance Fully joined Wildrose Alliance caucus
     November 22, 2010 Raj Sherman Edmonton-Meadowlark Independent Removed from Progressive Conservative caucus
  January 24, 2011 Dave Taylor Calgary-Currie Alberta Party Joined Alberta Party
     March 15, 2011 Raj Sherman Edmonton-Meadowlark Independent Liberal Joined the Liberal Party, but not the caucus.
  June 26, 2011 See List of Members Wildrose Caucus name changed from Wildrose Alliance to Wildrose
  September 12, 2011 Raj Sherman Edmonton-Meadowlark Liberal Joined the Liberal caucus.[9]
  November 21, 2011 Bridget Pastoor Lethbridge-East Progressive Conservative Crossed the floor from the Liberal caucus[10]
     January 27, 2012 Lloyd Snelgrove Vermilion-Lloydminster Independent Left the Progressive Conservative caucus due to issues with Premier Redford.[11]
  March 2012 Richard Marz Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Progressive Conservative Vacated seat[12]

References
  1. Journals of the Twenty-Seventh Legislature of the Province of Alberta: Fourth and Fifth Sessions (PDF) (CXIX ed.). Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. 2012. p. 119. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  2. "Legislative Assembly of Alberta: The 27th Legislature, Hansard" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 14, 2008. pp. 1–2.
  3. "Alberta MLAs earned thousands for committee that never meets". CBC News. Edmonton. The Canadian Press. March 7, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  4. Gerein, Keith (June 15, 2012). "UPDATE: Who's paid back their "no-meet" committee money?". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  5. "Budget 2012: Investing in People - Overview (Fact Card)" (PDF). open.alberta.ca. Government of Alberta. 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  6. "Budget 2012: Investing in People - Speech: 2012 Address" (PDF). open.alberta.ca. Government of Alberta. 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  7. "Province delivers Budget 2012". CTV News. February 9, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  8. "MLA delays joining Wildrose due to funding". CBC News. July 29, 2010.
  9. "Liberal leader Sherman now caucus member". CBC News. September 12, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  10. Cryderman, Kelly (November 21, 2011). "Lethbridge MLA Pastoor crosses floor to join Conservatives". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  11. "Snelgrove resigns from Tory caucus". Edmonton Journal. January 27, 2012.
  12. "Contact Information for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
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