The next Alberta provincial election will take place on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. With each election cycle comes the possibility of new Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), new Ministers and a new Premier, along with electoral boundary changes.
Since 2015, the Honourable Oneil Carlier, MLA for Whitecourt-Lac Ste. Anne, has served as the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. If the New Democrats form our next government, it is likely Minister Carlier will remain in his position.
However, should a party other than the New Democrats form our next government, we will welcome a new Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. Members of the official opposition are often assigned “critic portfolios,” including agriculture. These individuals are sometimes called “shadow ministers.”
Rick Strankman, MLA for Drumheller-Stettler, was the United Conservative shadow minister for agriculture until he left the party caucus earlier this year. No other parties have MLAs officially assigned to the agriculture portfolio.
Typically, candidates who currently occupy their seats in the Legislature (known as incumbents) have a likelier chance of being re-elected compared to new candidates. In 2019, seven MLAs in constituencies where our producers live are not seeking re-election. Those individuals, ranked by producer population in their respective 2015 constituencies, are:
- Wes Taylor, MLA for Battle River-Wainwright (62 producers)
- David Schneider, MLA for Little Bow (60 producers)
- Rick Strankman, MLA for Drumheller-Stettler (40 producers)
- Pat Stier, MLA for Livingstone-Macleod (40 producers)
- Richard Starke, MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster (21 producers)
- Wayne Drysdale, MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti (six producers)
- Scott Cyr, MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake (five producers)
For every other constituency in the province where our producers live, an incumbent will be running in 2019. In these predominately rural constituencies, 13 of the incumbents are United Conservatives, while 11 are New Democrats. Taken together, in the constituencies with incumbents, United Conservatives represent 315 producers, while New Democrats represent 156.
More information
For more information on party platforms, visit the websites of the Alberta Advantage Party, Alberta Independence Party, Alberta Party, Freedom Conservative Party, Green Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Party and United Conservative Party. Keep an eye out for upcoming Alberta Pork articles, and be sure to pay attention to news and social media leading up to the election.
If you would like more information on the 2019 Alberta provincial election, contact Andrew Heck, Communication Programs Coordinator, Alberta Pork by email at andrew.heck@albertapork.com or by phone at 780-491-3527, toll-free at 1-877-247-PORK (7675).
