Former Minister of Municipal Affairs and UCP MLA for Calgary-Hays Ric McIver has been elected the new Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
McIver, 66, resigned as minister on Tuesday and later that morning, was selected as the new speaker by house members by a majority.
t’s been an honour to serve as Minister of Municipal Affairs under Premier Danielle Smith, and through my previous portfolios in government. I am humbled by the opportunity to continue serving Albertans in a new way as Speaker of the House," McIver said in a post on X.
"I look forward to upholding the traditions of our Legislature with fairness and respect."
Premier Danielle Smith said McIver will be a great choice for the role.
“After decades of public service, Speaker McIver has a proven track record of representing his constituents with dignity and honour as the MLA for Calgary-Hays, in his various ministerial roles, and previously as a city of Calgary councillor," Smith said in a statement on Tuesday.
“He is respected on both sides of the aisle, and I know he will approach his new role as Speaker with the utmost seriousness."
The premier said that Alberta’s Minister of Tourism and Sport, and Government House Leader, Joseph Schow, will be serving as interim Minister of Municipal Affairs until a new minister is appointed.
Heather Sweet, NDP MLA for Edmonton-Manning was the only other member nominated.
"It was an honour to be nominated for Speaker of the Alberta Legislature today," Sweet said in a post on X.
"Thank you to MLA Janet Eremenko for her wonderful nomination speech and to my colleagues for their trust and support. Congratulations to MLA Ric McIver on his new role as Speaker!"
McIver was first elected in 2012, and he was re-elected in 2015, 2019 and 2023, in the riding of Calgary-Hays.
Prior to this, he was elected to Calgary City Council for three terms. During that time, he served on the Police Commission and as Chair of the Calgary Housing Company, among many committee assignments. He has been a Calgary Stampede volunteer for over 15 years. In government, Ric has served as Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure, Jobs, Skills, Training, and Labour and Municipal Affairs.
McIver takes over for Nathan Cooper as speaker. Cooper resigned his post last week after he was named Alberta's representative to the U.S.
On Tuesday, Alberta Municipalities congratulated McIver on the appointment. They said despite differences of opinions, he also showed a willingness to listen.
"While our association did not always see eye-to-eye with then-Minister McIver, we appreciated his willingness to listen and consider the needs of the 264 member communities for which we advocate," ABmunis Board of Directors said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Whenever ABmunis was invited by Municipal Affairs to collaborate or contribute to the provincial government’s development of legislation and regulations, we knew our collective voice would be heard.
We wish Speaker McIver continued success in his new role."
McIver assumed his role as speaker on Tuesday.
