Ed Stelmach

The Honourable Edward Michael Stelmach MLA
At the Calgary Stampede
13th Premier of Alberta
Incumbent
Assumed office December 14, 2006
Lieutenant Governor	Norman Kwong
Preceded by	Ralph Klein
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
Incumbent
Assumed office November 22, 2004
Preceded by	New district
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Vegreville-Viking
In office June 15, 1993 – November 22, 2004
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	District abolished
Personal details
Born	(1951-05-11) May 11, 1951 Lamont, Alberta
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Marie Stelmach (née Warshawski)

Edward Michael Stelmach MLA, (born May 11, 1951 in Lamont, Alberta) is the current Premier of Alberta, Canada. He was elected Leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta on December 3, 2006. He sits in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as the Progressive Conservative Member of the Legislative Assembly for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (previously Vegreville-Viking). Stelmach served in the Cabinets of Ralph Klein, at various times holding the portfolios of Intergovernmental Relations, Transportation, Infrastructure, and Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development.

Background

Ed Stelmach (Template:PronEng) was born May 11, 1951, and was raised near Lamont, Alberta, as the youngest of five children. He intended to pursue a career in law, and studied for a time at the University of Alberta before returning with his wife, Marie, to his family farm. He entered politics in 1987 with his election to the council of Lamont County; one year later, he was appointed county reeve, a position he held until his entry into provincial politics in 1993.

MLA and minister

Stelmach ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as a Progressive Conservative in the 1993 provincial election, defeating incumbent New Democrat Derek Fox in the riding of Vegreville-Viking. During his first term, Stelmach served as Deputy Whip and, later, Chief Government Whip for the P.C. caucus. He also sat on the caucus's standing policy committees on Community Services and Health Restructuring. During subsequent terms, he would serve on the standing policy committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and on the cabinet's Agenda and Priorities Committee.

Stelmach was re-elected by an increased margin during the 1997 election, and entered Premier Ralph Klein's cabinet shortly thereafter as the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development. He held this position until 1999, when he became Minister of Infrastructure. While he held this portfolio, he aroused controversy by suggesting that the slow and fast lanes be reversed on provincial highways to save on maintenance; he quickly abandoned this proposal. In 2001, he became Minister of Transportation.

Stelmach was re-elected by his largest majority yet during the 2001 election, and retained the Transportation portfolio until 2004, when he was re-assigned to the position of Minister of Intergovernmental Relations. He resigned this position in 2006 in order to contest the P.C. leadership election (Klein had required that ministers intending to campaign to succeed him resign from cabinet).

2006 leadership contest

Main article: Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2006

Stelmach was the first candidate to declare his intentions, and picked up endorsements from nineteen members of his caucus (including cabinet ministers Pearl Calahasen and Iris Evans). However, former provincial Treasurer Jim Dinning had twice as many caucus endorsements (despite not having held elected office since 1997) and was generally considered the race's front-runner. Stelmach ran a low-profile campaign, touring the province in a custom-painted campaign bus, while most media attention was focussed on the rivalry between Dinning and the more conservative Ted Morton.

According to the race's rules, the three candidates receiving the most votes on the first ballot would move on to a second ballot, which would use a preferential voting system to select a winner. Stelmach finished third on the first ballot with 15.3% of the vote, 3,329 votes ahead of fourth place Lyle Oberg and 10,647 votes behind second place Morton. However, the fourth, fifth, and sixth place candidates (Oberg, Dave Hancock, and Mark Norris) all endorsed Stelmach for the second ballot, one which he finished in first place on the first count (fewer than five hundred votes ahead of Dinning). A majority of Morton's votes went to Stelmach on the second count, and he was elected leader.

Premier

Ed Stelmach was sworn in as Premier December 14, 2006.

Policy initiatives

Democratic reform

Klein's government had received criticism for reducing the importance of the legislature by sitting it fewer days than any other province's legislature and for directing business through standing policy committees of the Progressive Conservative caucus, which met in private, rather than through the legislature's all-party committees. In April 2007, Stelmach initiated the creation of four new legislative "policy field committees" which would include opposition representation.

Oil royalties

Stelmach commissioned the Alberta Royalty Review panel to make recommendations on the royalties the Alberta government charged to oil companies for the privilege of extracting the province's oil; opposition politicians had accused the government of undercharging substantially. Stelmach rejected many of the panel's recommendations, but did increase royalty rates by approximately 20% (25% less than recommended by the panel).

Carbon emissions

In January of 2008, Stelmach unveiled the province's "made in Alberta" plan to cut carbon emissions in order to fight global warming. The plan called for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14% (from 2007 levels) by 2050. Environmental groups and opposition parties suggested that this was insufficient in light of British Columbia's plan to to cut emissions by 80% (from 2007 levels) during the same period, but Stelmach argued that Alberta's position as a supplier of oil to the rest of the country justified relatively higher emissions.

Teachers pension liability

During his first year in office, Stelmach and his education minister Ron Liepert concluded a deal with the Alberta Teachers Association in which the province agreed to contribute $2.1 billion towards the $6.6 billion unfunded pension liability, which resulted from insufficient contributions to the teachers' pension plan during the period leading up to 1992. In exchange, the ATA agreed to a five year contract extension. The deal was applauded by the opposition Liberals and New Democrats, but was criticized by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which called for a plebiscite on the issue.

Controversies and criticisms

Calgarian alienation

Many Calgarians have been critical of Stelmach, suggesting that, as a farmer from the central part of the province, he is biased against Calgary and urban Alberta in general. They pointed to the fact that the city, which was considered the heartland of Jim Dinning's support during the leadership race, had only three members Ron Liepert, Ron Stevens, and Greg Melchin) in his first eighteen member cabinet (Stelmach supporters pointed out that Edmonton had only one minister - Dave Hancock). Stelmach also found himself in a feud with Calgary mayor Dave Bronconnier during his first year as premier as Bronconnier accused Stelmach of failing to keep a promise to the city regarding infrastructure spending during his first budget. Several Stelmach supporters suggested that the mayor, a Liberal, might be angling to take over as leader of the official opposition if Kevin Taft fumbled.

Energy and Utilities Board

Activist Mike Hudema holding a depiction of Stelmach as he protests Bill 46.

Let it be known that Mike Hudema is a major nerd.

In June 2007, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, the government-mandated and appointed body responsible for regulating energy resource development, pipelines, transmission lines, and investor-owned electric, water, and natural gas utilities, as well as certain municipality-owned utilities, admitted that it had hired private investigators to spy on landowners who opposed the construction of a major power line in the Rimbey area. Stelmach initially downplayed the incident, but ordered a judicial investigation once the province's Information and Privacy Commissioner initiated an investigation of his own. This investigation found that the EUB had violated provincial law and infringed on the landowners' privacy, while the judicial investigation criticized the EUB's tactics as "repulsive". The opposition parties called for the dismissal of the entire EUB and Energy Minister Mel Knight; Stelmach instead opted to appoint a new EUB chair.

Stelmach's government also responded with legislation entitled the Alberta Utilities Commission Act (Bill 46), which would split the EUB into two parts, the Alberta Utilities Commission (responsible for regulating utilities) and the Energy Resources Conservation Board (responsible for regulating oil and gas). The legislation was controversial, as elements of the EUB's governing legislation that provided for public notice and consultation in the event of energy construction projects; opposition parties and advocacy groups charged that this was an assault on both landowners' rights and the environment. The legislation ultimately passed, and took effect at the beginning of 2008.

edstelmach.ca

In December of 2007, Stelmach threatened legal action against blogger and former Liberal staffer Dave Cournoyer for misappropriating Stelmach's persona by registering the domain name edstelmach.ca; Cournoyer had registered the domain for $14 in April 2007, four months after Stelmach became premier, and had directed it to the Wikipedia article on Harry Strom. After this manoeuvre was met with mixed media and public reaction, Stelmach backed off threats of legal action and turned to negotiation in an effort to acquire the domain name; as of February 2008, no resolution had been reached.

Albertans for Change

In January of 2008, a group calling itself Albertans for Change began to buy print and television ads criticizing Stelmach for a lack of plan and attacking him as unfit to lead the province. The group was funded by the Alberta Building Trades Council and the Alberta Federation of Labour, which led to a series of ads purchased by the National Citizens Coalition and Merit Contractors, in which it was criticized for "putting your [union members'] money where [union leadership's] mouths are."

Comparisons to Harry Strom

Stelmach has been compared to Harry Strom, the last Social Credit premier of the province, who was regarded as honest but ineffective and who survived only long enough as Premier to preside over the disastrous (for Social Credit) 1971 election. These comparisons intensified when Liberal Craig Cheffins was elected in Klein's Calgary Elbow riding in a 2007 by-election; Strom's 1971 defeat had been preceded by a pair of 1969 by-election losses, one of them in Ernest Manning's Strathcona East. However, these comparisons have largely subsided with the 2008 election results.

2008 election

Main article: Alberta general election, 2008

On February 4, 2008, after a throne speech that promised the elimination of premiums for Alberta's tax-funded universal public health insurance plan (a promise that both the Alberta Liberal Party and the Alberta New Democratic Party had featured prominently in their last several election campaigns), Stelmach asked Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and call an election for March 3, 2008. Despite a campaign that was criticized as being disorganized and uninspired, Stelmach's Progressive Conservatives won 72 seats in the 83 seat Legislative Assembly, an increase from the 62 it had won in the previous election and only two seats short of Ralph Klein's 2001 landslide.