Nathan Cooper’s successor as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta has been named.
Cooper resigned from the role last night, and Tuesday (May 13) morning Ric McIver was elected by his fellow MLAs to serve as the province’s new Speaker.
The MLA for Calgary-Hays becomes Alberta’s 15th Speaker and it is a role he will retain for the rest of the 31st Legislature.
McIver had resigned as Municipal Affairs Minister earlier on Tuesday. The vote for the new Speaker was contested, but the UCP backed McIver over the Opposition NDP candidate Heather Sweet.
Portfolios that McIver has handled in the past include Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure, plus Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, as well as his most recent gig as Minister of Municipal Affairs. McIver is in the midst of his fourth term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Meanwhile, Cooper was the 8th longest serving Speaker in Alberta’s history. He began his tenure in May of 2019. Last week (May 7th), Cooper accepted a new government job as Alberta’s senior representative to the United States. The job will be based in Washington, D.C and as a result Cooper will also resign as the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA to take it on June 1st.
His resignation will create a vacancy in that constituency, and he has stated that Premier Danielle Smith will have up to six months to call a by-election for the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding. Cooper has been the riding’s MLA for a decade.
Written by: Galen Hartviksen – Vista Radio
