Roles and responsibilities

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The Lieutenant Governor

The Lieutenant Governor is the Queen’s representative in Alberta. While the position is mostly ceremonial, the Lieutenant Governor has several duties, including opening and closing the Legislature sessions and granting Royal Assent to bills passed by the government. A bill cannot become law without Royal Assent.

His Honour, Col. (Ret'd.) The Honourable Donald S. Ethell is the current Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.

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The Premier

The Premier is the head of government in Alberta. The leader of the political party with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly becomes the Premier. While the Premier does not need to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly to lead the province, he does need to be an MLA to sit in the Legislature and participate in debate.

The Honourable Alison Redford is the current Premier of Alberta. She is also the MLA for the riding of Calgary-Elbow.

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Executive Council

Executive Council is made up of the Premier and cabinet ministers. Its role is to put government policy into practice. The Premier is the head of Executive Council, and chooses cabinet ministers from elected members of his party.

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Cabinet

Cabinet is the framework in which members of Executive Council do their work. In addition to approving Orders in Council, Cabinet ratifies policy matters and is the final authority on a wide variety of issues related to the day-to-day operation of government. The Premier chairs Cabinet and, in addition to all ministers, the party whip and the five chairs of the Cabinet Policy Committees sit at the Cabinet table to represent their committees’ views. See the list of Cabinet Ministers  

The Speaker

The Speaker directs debates and proceedings in the Legislative Assembly. The Speaker is an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly. At the beginning of the first Legislative session after an election, all MLAs vote for the Speaker by secret ballot.

The Honourable Ken Kowalski is the current Speaker of the House. He is also the MLA for the riding of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock.

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The Opposition

The Opposition is made up of MLAs that are not part of the governing party. The role of the Opposition is to criticize government activity, propose improvements, and present itself to the public as an alternative to the party in office.

Alberta currently has two opposition parties. The Alberta Liberal Party has the most opposition seats in the Assembly. It is called the Official Opposition. The Alberta New Democratic Party also sits in opposition. They are called the Third Party in the Assembly.

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Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)

Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected by Albertans to make the laws they live by.

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