1st Alberta Legislature

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Formal opening of the Legislative Assembly, March 15, 1906.

The 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from November 9, 1905, to Monday, March 22, 1909, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 1905 Alberta general election which was held on November 9, 1905. The Legislature officially began on November 9, 1905, and continued until the fourth session was prorogued on February 25, 1909, and dissolved the next day on February 26, 1909, prior to the 1909 Alberta general election.

Alberta's first government was controlled by the majority Liberal Party led by Premier Alexander Rutherford. The Official Opposition was the Conservative Party led by Albert John Robertson. The Speaker was Charles W. Fisher who served in the role until his death from the 1918 flu pandemic in 1919 partway through the 4th Alberta Legislature.

History of the First Legislature

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Members of the 1st Alberta Legislature on March 16, 1906

The 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly came about after Alberta entered Confederation with the Alberta Act. The assembly met for the first time in 1906 under a strong Alberta Liberal Party majority. Construction of the Alberta Legislature Building would not begin until 1907, so the assembly would meet in the newly completed McKay Avenue School for the first two sessions of the First Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1906 and 1907. Important bills passed in those sessions include confirming Edmonton as the provincial capital, the founding of the University of Alberta, establishment of provincial courts, and the provision of charters for several railway companies.

Edmonton was designated as the temporary capital city for Alberta during its creation. One of the major debates that occurred in this assembly was the capital city debate. A number of alternative capital cities were chosen and voted on. In the end partly due to the strong representation around Edmonton and strong Liberal majority, Edmonton was chosen as the permanent capital city in Alberta.

Labor MLA Donald McNabb's by-election victory made him the first third party candidate elected to the legislature and helped raise the strength of the labour movement in the Lethbridge area that would have an effect in Alberta politics for quite some time to come.

Telephone policy

Liberal government would make a number of large-scale forays into government operation of utilities, the most notable of which being the creation of Alberta Government Telephones.Template:Sfn In 1906, Alberta's municipalities legislation was passed and included a provision authorizing municipalities to operate telephone companies.Template:Sfn Several, including Edmonton, did so, alongside private companies.Template:Sfn The largest private company was the Bell Telephone Company, which held a monopoly over service in Calgary.Template:Sfn Such monopolies and the private firms' refusal to extend their services into sparsely-populated and unprofitable rural areas aroused demand for provincial entry into the market, which was effected in 1907.Template:Sfn The government constructed a number of lines, beginning with one between Calgary and Banff, and it also purchased Bell's lines for $675,000.Template:Sfn

Alberta's public telephone system was financed by debt, which was unusual for a government like Rutherford's, which.was generally committed to the principle of "pay as you go".Template:Sfn Rutherford's stated rationale was that the cost of such a large capital project should not.be borne by a single generation and that incurring debt to finance a corresponding asset was, in contrast to operating deficits, acceptable.Template:Sfn Though the move was popular at the time, it would prove not to be financially astute. By focusing on areas neglected by existing companies, the government was entering into the most expensive and least profitable fields of telecommunication.Template:Sfn Such.problems would not come to fruition until Rutherford had left office, however. In the short term, the government's involvement in the telephone business helped it to a sweeping victory in the 1909 election.Template:Sfn The Liberals won 37 of 41 seats in the newly expanded legislature.Template:Sfn

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Bills Report 1st Legislative Assembly
Party		No. of Bills	Royal Assent	Withdrawn	Killed
First Session						83	76	9	0	0	0	0	0
Second Session
54	49	5	0	0	0	0	0
Third Session
45	43	0	2	2	0	1	1
Fourth Session						54	48	3	3	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0

Labour bills

Rutherford's government legislated an eight-hour day,Template:Sfn as well, Rutherford's government also passed workers' compensation legislation designed to make such compensation automatic, rather than requiring the injured worker to sue his employer.Template:Sfn Labour representatives criticized the bill for failing to impose fines on negligent employers, for limiting construction workers' eligibility under the program to injuries sustained while they were working on buildings more than high, and for exempting casual labourers. It also viewed the maximum payout of $1,500 as inadequate.Template:Sfn In response to these concerns, the maximum was increased to $1,800 and the minimum building height reduced to .Template:Sfn In response to farmers' concerns, farm labourers were made exempt from the bill entirely.Template:Sfn

Party composition

Affiliation		Elected in 1905	Standings at dissolution	23	22	2	2		1
Total		25	25
Government Majority		21	19

Members of the Legislative Assembly elected

For complete electoral history, see individual districts

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	District	Member	Party	First elected	Athabasca	William Bredin	Liberal	1905	Banff	Charles W. Fisher	Liberal	1905	Calgary	William Cushing	Liberal	1905	Cardston	John William Woolf	Liberal	1905	Edmonton	Charles Wilson Cross	Liberal	1905	Gleichen	Charles Stuart	Liberal	1905
Ezra Riley (1906)	Liberal	1906	High River	Albert Robertson	Conservative	1905	Innisfail	John A. Simpson	Liberal	1905	Lacombe	William Puffer	Liberal	1905	Leduc	Robert Telford	Liberal	1905	Lethbridge	Leverett DeVeber	Liberal	1905
William Simmons (1906)	Liberal	1906
Donald McNabb (1909)	Labour	1909	Macleod	Malcolm McKenzie	Liberal	1905	Medicine Hat	William Finlay	Liberal	1905	Pincher Creek	John Plummer Marcellus	Liberal	1905	Ponoka	John R. McLeod	Liberal	1905		Red Deer	John T. Moore	Liberal	1905	Rosebud	Cornelius Hiebert	Conservative	1905	St. Albert	Henry William McKenney	Liberal	1905	Stony Plain	John McPherson	Liberal	1905	Strathcona	Alexander Cameron Rutherford	Liberal	1905	Sturgeon	John R. Boyle	Liberal	1905	Vermilion	Matthew McCauley	Liberal	1905
James Bismark Holden (1906)	Liberal	1906	Victoria	Francis A. Walker	Liberal	1905	Wetaskiwin	Anthony Rosenroll	Liberal	1905

Member changes after the election

	District	Member	Party	Reason for By-Election	Lethbridge	William Simmons	Liberal	April 12, 1906 —Appointment of Mr. Leverett DeVeber to Canadian Senate	Vermilion	James Bismark Holden	Liberal	July 16, 1906 —Appointment of Mr. Matthew McCauley as warden of Edmonton Penitentiary	Gleichen	Ezra Riley	Liberal	December 7, 1906 —Appointment of Mr. Charles Stuart to Judicial Bench	Lethbridge	Donald McNabb	Labour	January 8, 1909 —Resignation of Mr. William Simmons to run for House of Commons

References

Works cited

External links

• Alberta Legislative Assembly
• Journals of the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly
• Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Book
• By-elections 1905 to present