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Premier of Alberta
Premier ministre de l'Alberta
Incumbent Danielle Smith since October 11, 2022
Office of the Premier
Style	The Honourable (formal) Premier (informal)
Status	Head of Government
Member of	Legislative Assembly Executive Council
Reports to	Legislative Assembly Lieutenant Governor
Seat	Edmonton
Appointer	Lieutenant Governor of Alberta with the confidence of the Alberta Legislature
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure contingent on the premier's ability to command confidence in the legislative assembly
Formation	September 2, 1905
First holder	Alexander Cameron Rutherford
Deputy	Deputy Premier of Alberta
Website	www.alberta.ca/premier.aspx

The premier of Alberta is the head of government and first minister of the Canadian province of Alberta. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the governing United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022.

The premier of Alberta is the leader of the legislative majority in the Alberta Legislature. The premier selects ministers of the Crown to the Executive Council of Alberta (the "cabinet") and as such is the head of the government in Alberta. The premier is the first minister representing Alberta towards the federal government and the other provinces and territories in Canada.

By constitutional convention the premier is normally a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

Duties and functions

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 a riding and is elected as MLA by the constituents of that constituency. As with most government leaders in a parliamentary system, the premier usually wins his or her 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 a by-election in a constituency that comes empty by the resignation of the sitting MLA or other incident. The most recent case of this was Don Getty, who lost his Edmonton-Whitemud seat in the 1989 election and then ran and was elected in a by-election in Stettler. 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.

List of premiers

References

1. Austen, Ian (30 May 2023). "After a Hard-Right Turn, Alberta's Conservatives Retain Power". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 October 2023.

Further reading

• Perry, Sandra E.; Craig, Jessica J. (2006). The Mantle of Leadership: Premiers of the Northwest Territories and Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. ISBN 0-9689217-2-8.
• Bradford J. Rennie, ed. (2004). Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century. Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. ISBN 978-0-88977-151-2.

v t e Politics of Alberta
Crown in Alberta	Charles III
Lieutenant Governor	Salma Lakhani Former lieutenant governors
Premier	Danielle Smith (Premiership) Former premiers List of premiers by time in office
Legislature	Current assembly Former legislatures Executive Council (Cabinet) Speaker of the Assembly Nathan Cooper Opposition Leader Rachel Notley Former Opposition Leaders
Political parties	United Conservative Danielle Smith New Democratic Naheed Nenshi Alberta Party Lindsay Amantea Alberta Advantage Marilyn Burns Buffalo Andrew Jacobson Communist Naomi Rankin Green Vacant Independence Vacant Liberal John Roggeveen Pro-Life Murray Ruhl Reform Randy Thorsteinson Solidarity Movement Artur Pawlowski Wildrose Independence Jeevan Singh Mangat Wildrose Loyalty Coalition Paul Hinman
Elections	31st general election (2023) Past elections Electoral districts
Other Canadian politics: Federal AB BC MB NB NL NS ON PE QC SK NT NU YU

• Premiers of Alberta