Provincial Government


Unit 6 is about our provincial government in Alberta.

  • Recall the concepts you learned in Lesson 3: The Greeks contributed some of the principles and ideas that are part of our government, but today's parliament developed in Great Britain. 

  • Recall the concepts you learned about the Rule of Law and Magna Carta in Unit 2: People refused to pay taxes unless they had a say in how the King or Queen was spending money.  Over time, people gained more control over decision-making, and the British monarch held less and less power.

Our government can be described as a responsible government.  This means that elected representatives are responsible to the people who elect them.  You will learn how democratic values are reflected in our provincial government and about how citizens can participate.

Targets


Read the I Can statements to see what you will learn in Unit 6.

I Can...

  • explain how the provincial government structured

  • tell about the role and status of the Lieutenant Governor within the provincial government

  • explain the responsibilities of the provincial government

  • explain how a bill becomes a law

  • tell how representatives are chosen at the provincial level

  • explain the differences between the responsibilities of a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and a cabinet minister

  • tell how individuals, groups, and associations within a community can participate in decision-making

  • tell how associations provide their members with a voice

Introduction


This is the longest bridge crossing water that is ice-covered in winter in the world. The building of this bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island caused a great deal of controversy. Before it committed to spend and borrow money to build it, the government of Prince Edward Island had to find out if the people wanted this bridge. The premier decided to use a referendum. 

This is the Alberta Legislature. Inside this building, our provincial government makes laws, and from here, it provides services for the people of Alberta.


Resources for Inquiry


  1. Textbook

    Referendums are sometimes used by governments to make difficult decisions.

      • Read pages 128 and 129 of your textbook to find out what happened.

Library Books


Check out the library books for this unit.

    Click here to download a PDF version of the Library List of Books


If you are not able to find these library books, look for others about our provincial government in Alberta.

Skill Builder


Click here to learn how to search for books in a library.

Notebook


Throughout this unit, you will keep a Notebook. The PDF downloads are the pages of your Notebook.

  • Create a folder on your computer or in the cloud titled "Unit 6 Notebook".

  • Save all of the PDF downloads to this folder.

Whenever you see this icon you will be directed to use the Unit 6 Notebook folder you created.