Premier Redford announces new cabinet

By Aaron Taylor

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Alison Redford announced a cabinet Wednesday that mixed new faces with old and reduced the number of ministries.

Promising change, Redford chose eight new cabinet members and dropped 12.  While many expected Redford’s cabinet to see more personnel changes, the biggest changes were in the placement of the existing members. Only two members of the cabinet, Justice Minister Verlyn Olson and Advanced Education Minister Greg Weadick remained in their previous departments.

“Continuity doesn’t mean things will stay exactly the same, but it does mean that we’ve moved away from an upheaval,” Redford said about her choices.

Of the MLAs returning to the cabinet, perhaps the most notable was Ron Liepert.  There was much speculation that Liepert would not be chosen, given that he did not support Redford’s leadership bid and had said that he would fight Redford on certain issues.

“Minister Liepert is my friend,” Redford said. “When I got involved with provincial politics, he was one of the first people I met in a Humpty’s restaurant in Westhill so many years ago. I appreciate his advice, he has tremendous perspective on this province.”

Previous cabinet members who are not returning are Cindy Ady, Yvonne Fritz, Lindsay Blackett, Luke Ouellette, Lloyd Snelgrove, Gene Zwozdesky, Hector Goudreau, Mary Anne Jablonski, Mel Knight, Rob Renner, Len Webber and Iris Evans.

“I was looking for people that are smart, innovative and listened to Albertans,” Redford said of her newly named Cabinet.
Premier Redford’s Cabinet team

Minister	Ministry
Alison Redford, QC, Calgary-Elbow	Premier, President of Executive Council, Chair of Agenda and Priorities
Doug Horner, Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert	Deputy Premier, President of Treasury Board and Enterprise
David Hancock, Edmonton-Whitemud	Minister of Human Services, Government House Leader
Ted Morton, Foothills-Rocky View	Minister of Energy
Verlyn Olson, Wetaskiwin-Camrose	Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Deputy Government House Leader
Fred Horne, Edmonton-Rutherford	Minister of Health and Wellness
Ron Liepert, Calgary-West	Minister of Finance
Thomas Lukaszuk, Edmonton-Castle Downs	Minister of Education
Diana McQueen, Drayton Valley-Calmar	Minister of Environment and Water
Jonathan Denis, Calgary-Egmont	Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security; Deputy Government House Leader
Cal Dallas, Red Deer-South	Minister of International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Relations
Evan Berger, Livingstone-Macleod	Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Frank Oberle, Peace River	Minister of Sustainable Resource Development
George VanderBurg, Whitecourt-Ste. Anne	Minister of Seniors
Ray Danyluk, Lac La Biche-St. Paul	Minister of Transportation
Jeff Johnson, Athabasca-Redwater	Minister of Infrastructure
Doug Griffiths, Battle River-Wainwright	Minister of Municipal Affairs
Greg Weadick, Lethbridge-West	Minister of Advanced Education and Technology
Jack Hayden,  Drumheller-Stettler	Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation
Heather Klimchuk, Edmonton-Glenora	Minister of Culture and Community Services
Manmeet Bhullar, Calgary-Montrose	Minister of Service Alberta

 

Parliamentary Assistants

Department	Parliamentary Assistant
Executive Council	Art Johnston, Calgary-Hays
Treasury Board and Enterprise	Kyle Fawcett, Calgary-North Hill
Human Services	Arno Doerksen, Strathmore-Brooks
Health and Wellness	Naresh Bhardwaj, Edmonton-Ellerslie
Education	Janice Sarich, Edmonton-Decore
Agriculture and Rural Development	Barry McFarland, Little Bow
Sustainable Resource Development	Dave Rodney, Calgary-Lougheed
Seniors	Alana DeLong, Calgary-Bow
Transportation	David Xiao, Edmonton-McClung