Legislative Assembly of Alberta

History

The first session of the first Legislature of Alberta opened on March 15, 1906, in the Thistle Rink, Edmonton, north of Jasper Avenue. After the speech from the throne, the assembly held its sessions in the McKay Avenue School. In this school Alberta MLAs chose the provincial capital, Edmonton, and the future site for the Alberta Legislature Building: the bank of the North Saskatchewan River. Allan Merrick Jeffers, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design was the architect who was chosen to build the assembly building. From 1908 to 1911 the Legislative Assembly met in a hall annexed to the old Terrace Building.

In September 1912 Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Governor General of Canada, declared the new Legislature building officially open.

Louise McKinney and Roberta MacAdams were the first women elected to the assembly, in the 1917 election, the first women in any legislature of the British Empire.

From 1926 to 1955, Edmonton and Calgary MLAs were elected through a form of proportional representation, while in that period, the other MLAs were elected using instant-runoff voting.

In 1965, the Alberta Election Act was amended to give the vote to Treaty Indians.

Early majorities in the Legislature were held by the Alberta Liberal Party, followed by the United Farmers of Alberta and Alberta Social Credit Party. The Progressive Conservatives held the legislature from 1971 until 2015, when the Alberta New Democratic Party held a majority for a single term. Since 2019, the United Conservative Party has held successive majorities.

Current members

Most members of the 31st Alberta Legislature were elected in the 31st Alberta general election held on May 29, 2023, but some were elected in subsequent by-elections. Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair were elected as UCP candidates but have since become Progressive Tory and Independent, respectively. Bold indicates cabinet members, and party leaders are italicized.

Standings during 31st Assembly

The 31st Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on May 29, 2023. The United Conservative Party, led by incumbent Premier Danielle Smith, formed the government with a reduced majority. The New Democrats, led by former Premier Rachel Notley, won the second most seats and formed the official opposition. , under recall election legislation introduced by the UCP, 21 MLAs have recall petition campaigns in progress; this includes Premier Danielle Smith. 20 of the petitions are against UCP members.

Seating plan

• Party leaders are italicized. Bold indicates cabinet minister.

Notes

References

References

1. "Legislative Assembly of Alberta".
2. {{Cite canlaw. ([1905])
3. {{Cite canlaw. (2000)
4. {{Cite canlaw. (2000)
5. Press, The Canadian. (December 13, 2025). "Elections Alberta gets extra $6.7M to handle outburst of recall petitions".
6. (29 February 2024). "History of the building".
7. (29 February 2024). "McDougall Centre".
8. Macauley, 75th Anniversary of Alberta's Legislative Building http://www.revparl.ca/english/issue.asp?art=735&param=122. accessed April 16, 2025
9. Terrace Building, Edmonton, Alberta https://hermis.alberta.ca/paa/PhotoGalleryDetails.aspx?st=edmonton&cp=257&ReturnUrl=%2Fpaa%2FSearch.aspx%3Fst%3Dedmonton%26cp%3D257&dv=True&DeptID=1&ObjectID=A5676
10. "Citizens Guide".
11. "Jeffers, Allan Merrick - Alberta On Record".
12. "Alberta Legislature".
13. A Report on Alberta Elections, 1905-1982, p. 9
14. "Legislative Assembly of Alberta".
15. (2023-05-29). "Danielle Smith's UCP holds onto power in Alberta".
16. "Chamber Seating Plan".