27th Alberta Legislature

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.

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.

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 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]

Official Seating Plan (Retrieved December 9, 2009)

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.

• Alberta Legislative Assembly
• Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Book
• By-elections 1905 to present