Alberta Politics
Government at the provincial level
consists of the Premier and cabinet ministers. Like
their federal counterparts, the Premier and ministers
are almost always from the same political party, the one
with the most elected members in the Legislative
Assembly.
The Premier, cabinet ministers, and
all other elected members together make up the
Legislative Assembly and are called Members of the
Legislative Assembly or MLAs, while the Legislature
comprises the Legislative Assembly together with the Lieutenant
Governor. The provinces' areas of responsibility,
defined in the Constitution Act of 1867, include health,
child welfare, municipal government, highways, labour,
property, civil rights, and education.
Alberta has a long history of
maintaining governments that last as long as they are
able to satisfy the populist demands of the people. This
was seen when the first government of the province, the
Liberals remained in office from 1905 until 1921, when
it was replaced with the United Farmers of Alberta who
remained in power until 1935. The Social Credit Party
governed from 1935 until 1971 when the Progressive Conservatives
won office and have since remained in power.
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