Christmas Comes Early For Alberta Liberals

Newly chosen party leader and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach chose a cabinet last week that left many observers surprised. Under the Klein government, urban critics often complained that rural districts were over-represented in the legislature, having ridings that average several thousand people fewer than urban areas. If Edmonton and Calgary ridings had the same population size as rural ones, they would say, both cities would gain two more MLAs each. The government, however, would point out the number of urban cabinet ministers as a way that the urban dominance of province that's three-quarters urban manifested itself. With Stelmach's new cabinet however, each city was given one cabinet minister. Furthermore, female ministers were reduced down to two, from at one point nine under Klein, and no visible minorities were given appointments.

The Liberal tendencies of the major urban areas in Alberta has been steadily increasing, even under Klein, with seemingly staunchly conservative Calgary electing Liberal MLAs in the last election. If Stelmach's new cabinet does not express some kind of provincial vision capable of speaking to urban moderate conservatives, the Liberal Party could see big gains in the next election.