Lesson 4 — Activity 3: Alberta's Government



Warm Up


In the previous lesson, you learned about the responsibilities of the provincial governments across Canada. In this lesson, you will focus just on the Alberta government.


Bankers Hall, Calgary
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Each Canadian province is unique because of its landscape, weather, history, and culture. Alberta became a province on September 1, 1905. These are Alberta's official emblems (symbols that represents or identify something).

 

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Alberta's Coat of Arms

 

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Alberta's Provincial Shield



Click here to explore some of the other emblems of Alberta.


Each provincial capital city has its own legislature, the meeting place for the people who work for the government of that province. Alberta's capital city is Edmonton, and the building where everyone meets is the legislative building. Construction of the Alberta legislature began in 1907, but it took until 1912 to complete. Part of the reason the construction took so long is that it is made from granite and sandstone with a huge internal rotunda made from marble.

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Alberta's Legislative Building

As was explained in the previous lesson, provincial governments have only one House.

There are eight political parties in Alberta.


    • Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP)
    • Progressive Conservative Party (PC)
    • Alberta Liberal Party
    • Wildrose Party
    • Alberta Party
    • Green Party
    • Communist Party of Alberta
    • Separation Party of Alberta



There are 87 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). They belong to political parties, and each represents a different constituency.

The provincial government is elected and formed in much the same way as the federal government. Citizens vote in the elections, and the party that wins the most seats forms the government. The parties elect their leader, who automatically becomes the premier. The premier then selects people who have won their seats in the election to form the cabinet. The head of state, who represents the monarch in Alberta, is referred to as the lieutenant governor.


Click here to learn about the people who make up Alberta's current cabinet. There are also many other links on this page that you may wish to explore.

Self-check!

Try This!

Try the questions below on your own first, and then click on the tab to check your answers! You can look back in the lesson to find the answers.


  1. Name one of the official emblems of Alberta.
  2. Where is the legislative building located in Alberta?
  3. How many political parties are there in Alberta?
  4. What are the members called who represent constituencies across Alberta?
  5. What is the title for the leader of the party that wins the most seats in an election?



  1. Alberta's Coat of Arms, the Flag of Alberta, Alberta's Provincial Shield
  2. The legislative building is located in Edmonton.
  3. There are eight political parties in Alberta.
  4. They are called members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).
  5. The leader of the party that wins the most seats in a provincial election is called the premier.