| Premier of Alberta | |
|---|---|
| Premier ministre de l'Alberta | |
 | |
| Office of the Premier | |
| Style |
|
| Status | Head of Government |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | |
| Seat | Edmonton |
| Appointer | Lieutenant Governor of Alberta with theconfidence of the Alberta Legislature |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure contingent on the premier's ability tocommand confidence in the legislative assembly |
| Formation | September 2, 1905 |
| First holder | Alexander Cameron Rutherford |
| Deputy | Deputy Premier of Alberta |
| Website | www |
Thepremier of Alberta is thehead of government andfirst minister of theCanadian province ofAlberta. The currentpremier isDanielle Smith, leader of the governingUnited Conservative Party, who wassworn in on October 11, 2022.[1]
The premier of Alberta is the leader of thelegislative majority in theAlberta Legislature. The premier selectsministers of the Crown to theExecutive Council of Alberta (the "cabinet") and as such is thehead of the government in Alberta. The premier is thefirst minister representing Alberta towards thefederal government and the otherprovinces and territories in Canada.
Byconstitutional convention the premier is normally aMember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
To be effective, accountable and in line with custom, the premier is expected to hold a seat in the legislature, so the premier serves as the MLA for ariding and is elected as MLA by the constituents of that constituency. As with most government leaders in aparliamentary system, the premier usually wins their own election as MLA easily. However, on occasion, a premier has not been re-elected to their seat in a general election, forcing them to run in aby-election in a constituency that comes empty by the resignation of the sitting MLA or other incident. The most recent case of this wasDon Getty, who lost hisEdmonton-Whitemud seat in the1989 election and then ran and was elected in a by-election inStettler. In 2022 Danielle Smith was elected party leader without holding a seat in the legislative assembly, thus becoming premier, and within a few weeks won a seat in a by-election.
| Order of precedence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Order of precedence in Alberta as of June 2024[update] | Succeeded by Ritu Khullar, Chief Justice of theCourt of Appeal of Alberta |
| Preceded by | Order of precedence in Canada as of June 2024[update] | Succeeded by |
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