The 26th Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from March 1, 2005, to February 4, 2008, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the

2004 Alberta general election The 2004 Alberta general election was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The election was called on October 25, 2004. Premier Ralph Klein decided to go to the polls earlier than the legislated dea ...

held on November 22, 2004. The Legislature officially resumed on March 1, 2005, and continued until the fourth session was

prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two electio ...

and dissolved on February 4, 2008, prior to the

2008 Alberta general election The 2008 Alberta general election was held on March 3, 2008, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. It was expected to be called early because the governing Progressive Conservatives held a leadership election on December 2, 2 ...

on March 3, 2008. Alberta's twenty-sixth government was controlled by the majority

Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (often referred to colloquially as Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta) was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party ...

, led by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...

until his resignation on December 24, 2006, after which he was succeeded by

Ed Stelmach Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speaks ...

. The

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

was led by Kevin Taft of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

. The

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

was

Ken Kowalski Kenneth Reginald Kowalski (born September 27, 1945) is a politician and former teacher from Alberta, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, where he served from 1979 to 2012, sitting with the governing Progressive Conse ...

. In the list below, cabinet members' names are bolded; leaders of official parties are italicized. This legislature had the distinction of being addressed by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Queen of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

, to help celebrate Alberta's

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

Party standings after 26th General Elections

* The

Alberta Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Alberta (frequently referred to as Alberta Court of Appeal or ABCA) is a Canadian appellate court. Jurisdiction and hierarchy within Canadian courts The court is the highest in Alberta, Canada. It hears appeals from the ...

declared Thomas Lukaszuk the victor more than two months after the election. The election-night vote count had given Chris Kibermanis of the Liberals a five-vote win, but the judicial recount gave Lukaszuk a three-vote margin of victory. * A party requires four seats to have official party status in the legislature. Parties with fewer than four seats are not entitled to party funding although their members will usually be permitted to sit together in the chamber.

Notable events

* The province's

occurred during the 26th Legislature, on September 1, 2005. Earlier that year, on May 24, 2005,

made an official visit to the province in commemoration of the centennial.Hansard for Tuesday, May 24, 2006, Afternoon
Retrieved on September 26, 2006. * On March 1, 2006, premier

announced a series of controversial health care reforms which involved allowing greater levels of

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

in Alberta's

public health care Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...

system. Later that day, the premier received significant media attention after throwing a book at a 17-year-old page. * On March 15, 2006, and throughout the year, the Legislative Assembly celebrated the centennial of the first sitting of the Legislature. * On April 6, 2006,

Ted Morton Frederick Lee Morton (born 1949), known commonly as Ted Morton, is an American-Canadian politician and former cabinet minister in the Alberta government. As a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, he represented the constituency of Fo ...

introduced the controversial

Bill 208, Protection of Fundamental Freedoms (Marriage) Statutes Amendment Act, 2006 Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. Critics maintained that the bill removed limitations on

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogn ...

where homosexual individuals were concerned, potentially removing recourse for

verbal abuse Verbal abuse (also known as verbal aggression, verbal attack, verbal violence, verbal assault, psychic aggression, or psychic violence) is a type of psychological/mental abuse that involves the use of oral, gestured, and written language dire ...

and discrimination. The bill died on the order paper on May 18, 2006.

Standings changes during the 26th Assembly

#February 2, 2005 Chris Kibermanis,

Edmonton Castle Downs Edmonton-Castle Downs is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. The district was cre ...

removed from office after a judicial recount. #February 2, 2005 Thomas Lukaszuk,

becomes the MLA by court order. #March 22, 2006

Lyle Oberg Lyle Knute Oberg (born January 6, 1960) is an Albertan politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly. He is also a physician and business executive. Life and career Oberg was born near Forestburg, Alberta in 1960. A physician by pr ...

, Strathmore-Brooks suspended from the Progressive Conservative

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

#July 25, 2006 Lyle Oberg, Strathmore-Brooks rejoins the Progressive Conservatives #January 15, 2007

Calgary-Elbow Calgary-Elbow is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. Its most recent MLA was Doug Schweitzer, who won the seat in the 2019 provincial election. Schweitzer stepped down on August 31, 2022 and the e ...

resigns #January 15, 2007 Shirley McClellan, Drumheller-Stettler resigns #June 12, 2007 Craig Cheffins,

elected in by-election #June 12, 2007 Jack Hayden, Drumheller-Stettler elected in by-election #November 20, 2006 Dan Backs, Edmonton Manning was expelled from the Liberal caucus. #September 27, 2007

Gary Mar Gary Glen Mar , (; born July 26, 1962) is a Canadian businessman and former politician in Alberta. He is currently the President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation. Mar had served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1 ...

, Calgary Mackay resigns to accept a government appointment. #January 19, 2008

Paul Hinman Paul Hinman (born 1959) is a Canadian politician and businessman. He is the former leader of the Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta since 2020 and was formerly the leader of the Wildrose Alliance (2008–2009) and Alberta Alliance Party ...

, Cardston-Taber-Warner forms the Wildrose Alliance caucus.

References

External links

Alberta Legislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly of Alberta Members Book
{{Alberta Assemblies Terms of the Alberta Legislature 2004 in Canadian politics 2005 in Canadian politics 2006 in Canadian politics 2007 in Canadian politics 2008 in Canadian politics 2004 in Alberta 2005 in Alberta 2006 in Alberta 2007 in Alberta 2008 in Alberta

Party standings after 26th General Elections

Notable events

Standings changes during the 26th Assembly

References

Further reading

External links