Ed Stelmach

The Honourable  Edward Michael Stelmach  MLA
At the Calgary Stampede
13th Premier of Alberta
Incumbent
Assumed office  December 14, 2006
Lieutenant Governor	Norman Kwong
Preceded by	Ralph Klein
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
Incumbent
Assumed office  November 22, 2004
Preceded by	New district
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Vegreville-Viking
In office June 15, 1993 – November 22, 2004
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	District abolished
Alberta Minister of Intergovernmental Relations
In office November 25, 2004 – March 23, 2006
Preceded by	Halvar Jonson
Succeeded by	Gary Mar
Alberta Minister of Transportation
In office March 16, 2001 – November 25, 2004
Preceded by	New portfolio1
Succeeded by	Lyle Oberg
Alberta Minister of Infrastructure
In office May 26, 1999 – March 16, 2001
Preceded by	New portfolio
Succeeded by	Ty Lund2
Alberta Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development
In office March 29, 1997 – May 26, 1999
Preceded by	Walter Paszkowski
Succeeded by	Ty Lund
Reeve of Lamont County, Alberta
In office 1987 – June 1993
Preceded by	Joe Hrycyk
Succeeded by	Mae Adamyk
Municipal councillor in Lamont County, Alberta, Division 4
In office October 20, 1986 – June 1993
Preceded by	Mike Kapicki
Succeeded by	Hazel Anaka
Born	May 11, 1951 (1951-05-11) (age 58) Lamont, Alberta
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Marie Stelmach (née Warshawski)
Children	Three sons, one daughter
Profession	Farmer
Religion	Ukrainian Greek Catholic
1Between 1999 and 2001, the Transportation portfolio was part of the Infrastructure portfolio, which was held by Stelmach. 2In 2001, the Infrastructure portfolio was divided into Infrastructure—which was taken over by Lund—and Transportation, which Stelmach retained.

Edward Michael Stelmach (pronounced /ˈstɛlmæk/) (born May 11, 1951) is the current Premier of Alberta, Canada, having served in this capacity since December 14, 2006. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and speaks fluent Ukrainian. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a farmer, except for some time spent studying at the University of Alberta. His first foray into politics was a 1986 municipal election, when he was elected to the county council of Lamont County. A year into his term, he was appointed reeve. He continued in this position until his entry into provincial politics.

In the 1993 provincial election, Stelmach was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vegreville-Viking (later Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville). A Progressive Conservative, he served in the cabinets of Ralph Klein—at various times holding the portfolios of Intergovernmental Relations, Transportation, Infrastructure, and Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development—where he developed a reputation as a low-key politician who avoided the limelight. When Klein resigned the party's leadership in 2006, Stelmach was among the first candidates to replace him. After a third place finish on the first ballot of the leadership race, he won an upset second ballot victory over former provincial treasurer Jim Dinning.

Stelmach's premiership has been heavily focussed on management of the province's oil reserves, especially those of the Athabasca Oil Sands. He has rejected calls from environmentalists to slow the pace of development in the Fort McMurray area, and has similarly opposed calls for carbon taxes or other measures designed to discourage oil consumption. Other policy initiatives have included commencing an overhaul of the province's health governance system, a re-introduction of all-party committees to the Legislature, and the conclusion of a major labour agreement with Alberta's teachers. His government has also attracted controversy for awarding itself a 30% pay increase shortly after its re-election, and has enjoyed strained relations with Calgary, one of Klein's former strongholds. Despite this, Stelmach increased the Progressive Conservatives' already substantial majority in the 2008 election.

Background

Ed Stelmach was born May 11, 1951, in Lamont, Alberta, the grandson of Ukrainian immigrants from Zavyche, Ukraine who settled near Andrew, Alberta in 1898, after bypassing Saskatchewan because they did not care for the terrain.^[1] His parents, Nancy and Michael Stelmach, had five children, of whom Ed was the youngest, ten years younger than any of the others.^[1] He was raised a Ukrainian Catholic, and continues to attend church regularly, sings in the church choir, and acts as volunteer caretaker for the cemetery.^[2] Through high school, he worked as a well-digger and a Fuller Brush salesman, where he said his grasp of Ukrainian helped him make sales.^[1] After graduating high school—his grade 12 yearbook called him a future Prime Minister of Canada—he attended the University of Alberta, intending to become a lawyer.^[1] He continued there, working as an assistant manager at Woodward's, until 1973, when his oldest brother, Victor, died.^[1] While his family had intended for Victor to take over the farm that his grandparents had settled 75 years before, Ed Stelmach dropped out of university, returned home, and bought the land from his parents.^[1] He continues to farm the land today.^[1]

As a teenager, he met Marie Warshawski at the wedding of a mutual friend. They married in 1973, and have three sons and a daughter.^[1]

Ed Stelmach entered politics in 1986 with his election to the council of Lamont County; one year later, he was appointed county reeve, a position he held until his entry into provincial politics in 1993.^[3][4]

MLA and minister

Stelmach ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as a Progressive Conservative in the 1993 provincial election, defeating incumbent New Democrat Derek Fox in the riding of Vegreville-Viking.^[5] Stelmach became a member of the Deep Six, a group of enthusiastically fiscally conservative rookie MLAs;^[6] in addition to supporting Ralph Klein's aggressive deficit-cutting, Stelmach practiced fiscal restrain himself, incurring low office expenses and declining a government vehicle.^[7] During his first term, Stelmach served as Deputy Whip and, later, Chief Government Whip for the P.C. caucus.^[7] As a backbencher, he sponsored the Lloydminster Hospital Act Repeal Act. This was a government bill that dissolved the then-existing Lloydminster hospital board in preparation for a new arrangement compliant with both the Alberta government's new system of regional health authorities and the Saskatchewan government's system. Lloydminster sits on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the hospital, although built and operated by the Alberta government, sits on the Saskatchewan side.^[8] It passed the legislature with little debate.^[9] In 1996, shortly before an April by-election in Redwater, Stelmach was accused of "pork barrel politics" for presenting, along with colleague Peter Trynchy and P.C. candidate Ross Quinn, a large cheque to a local seniors centre. Stelmach said that he had only stepped in to help a neighbouring riding after its MLA, Nicholas Taylor, had been appointed to the Senate.^[7]

After the 1997 provincial election, Klein appointed Stelmach Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural development.^[10] While he held this office, his department encouraged the establishment of feedlots.^[7] The opposition parties charged that the government was not regulating these sufficiently, but Stelmach responded that municipalities had the authority necessary to effectively regulate them.^[7] On the Canadian Wheat Board controversy, Stelmach sided with farmers who wanted an end to the federal body's monopoly on grain sales in the western provinces.^[7] Legislatively, Stelmach sponsored five bills while in the Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development portfolio, all of which passed through the legislature.^[11][12] 1997's Meat Inspection Amendment Act required meat inspectors to acquire a search warrant before entering a private dwelling, but also allowed for fines to be voluntarily paid without requiring a court case.^[13] It was called by Liberal agriculture critic Ken Nicol "a really good bill".^[13] The Livestock and Livestock Products Amendment Act of the same year eliminated government guarantee of the Livestock Patrons' Assurance Fund designed to protect cattle producers from payment defaults by livestock dealers, in favour of leaving the Fund entirely in the hands of the industry.^[14] It too was supported by the Liberals, with Nicol calling it "very easy for us to accept".^[15] In 1998, Stelmach sponsored the Agriculture Statutes (Penalties) Amendment Act, which overhauled the penalty system for violation of various agricultural statutes, setting maximum fines and leaving the precise amount up to judges on a case by case basis.^[16] It also passed with Liberal support, as MLA Ed Gibbons said that it "really makes a lot of sense".^[16] Also in 1998 was the Marketing of Agricultural Products Amendment Act, which allowed provincial agricultural marketing boards to revise their marketing plans, and was supported by the opposition.^[16] Finally, Stelmach initiated the Agriculture Statutes (Livestock Identification) Amendment Act, which allowed the government to delegate the inspection of branding to the cattle industry.^[17] The bill was the subject of considerable debate on second reading,^[17] but was ultimately supported by the Liberals on the third and final reading.^[18]

In 1999, Klein shifted Stelmach to the new Infrastructure portfolio, where he made traffic safety a priority, increasing fines for traffic offenses, sometimes by as much as 700%.^[7] He also briefly aroused controversy by proposing reversing the slow and fast lanes on provincial highways, on the grounds that this would equalize the rate at which the lanes broke down and therefore save on maintenance costs; nothing came of the proposal.^[7] He established a fund for capital projects, but has been criticized for not doing enough to address the deterioration of the province's infrastructure.^[7] In 2001, Klein separated Transportation out of the Infrastructure portfolio and appointed Stelmach to it, where the new minister advocated the use of public-private partnerships to build ring roads around Edmonton and Calgary.^[7] He also introduced a program of graduated driver licensing and initiated a review of traffic safety programs.^[7] Stelmach was re-elected by his largest majority yet during the 2001 election,^[19] and retained the Transportation portfolio until 2004, when he was re-assigned to the position of Minister of Intergovernmental Relations.^[7] He resigned this position in 2006 in order to contest the P.C. leadership election (Klein had required that ministers intending to campaign to succeed him resign from cabinet).^[20]

As minister, Stelmach kept a low profile. Mark Lisac, who was the Edmonton Journal's provincial affairs columnist during much of Stelmach's time in cabinet, later recalled that Stelmach "never did anything that was flashy or controversial in any way" and that "not a thing" stood out about Stelmach's ministerial service.^[7] This low-key style earned Stelmach the moniker "Steady Eddie", which would follow him to the Premier's office.^[21]

2006 leadership contest

Main article: Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2006

Stelmach was the first candidate to declare his intentions, and picked up endorsements from nineteen members of his caucus (including cabinet ministers Pearl Calahasen and Iris Evans).^[22] However, former provincial Treasurer Jim Dinning had twice as many caucus endorsements (despite not having held elected office since 1997) and was generally considered the race's front-runner.^[23][24] Stelmach ran a low-profile campaign, touring the province in a custom-painted campaign bus, while most media attention was focussed on the rivalry between Dinning and the more conservative Ted Morton.^[21]

According to the race's rules, the three candidates receiving the most votes on the first ballot would move on to a second ballot, which would use a preferential voting system to select a winner. Stelmach finished third on the first ballot with 15.3% of the vote, 3,329 votes ahead of fourth place Lyle Oberg and 10,647 votes behind second place Morton. However, the fourth, fifth, and sixth place candidates (Oberg, Dave Hancock, and Mark Norris) all endorsed Stelmach for the second ballot. On this ballot, he finished in first place on the first count, fewer than five hundred votes ahead of Dinning. A majority of Morton's votes went to Stelmach on the second count, and he was elected leader.^[24]

Financing

Stelmach raised more than $1.1 million for his leadership campaign.^[25] After his victory, he revealed the names of the donors of 85% of this money, but declined to release the names of eighty supporters, citing their requests for privacy. These supporters had donated a total of more than $160,000.^[25] Party rules did not require any disclosure, and the disclosures by candidates varied—Norris named all of his donors, while Morton did not reveal any.^[25] Stelmach's partial disclosure was deemed insufficient by opposition leaders and Democracy Watch, whose head suggested that Albertans should assume that Stelmach's anonymous donors placed him in a conflict of interest until he proved otherwise.^[25] Stelmach also acknowledged receiving a $10,000 donation from the Beaver Regional Waste Management Service's Commission, a landfill operator owned by five municipalities in Stelmach's riding.^[26] While asserting that the donation was legal, Stelmach admitted that it was "clearly unethical", blamed overzealous campaign volunteers for soliciting it, and returned it after the end of the campaign.^[26]

In the wake of the leadership campaign, Stelmach, along with Oberg, Hancock, and Norris, organized two $5,000 per plate dinners in January 2007 to pay campaign debts.^[27] After critics argued that the dinners were essentially selling access to the premier and two senior ministers, Stelmach cancelled the dinners.^[28]

Premier

Ed Stelmach was sworn in as Premier December 14, 2006.^[29] On February 4, 2008, immediately after Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong read the throne speech to open the legislative session, Stelmach requested a dissolution of the legislature with an election to follow March 3.^[30] Shortly before the writ was dropped, a group calling itself Albertans for Change began to buy print and television ads that attacked Stelmach for lacking a plan and portrayed him as unfit to lead the province.^[31] The group was funded by the Alberta Building Trades Council and the Alberta Federation of Labour, which led to a series of ads purchased by the National Citizens Coalition and Merit Contractors, in which it was accused of "putting your [union members'] money where [union leadership's] mouths are."^[32]

Stelmach speaking at a luncheon, April 2007.

Despite a campaign that was called disorganized and uninspired,^[33][34] Stelmach's Progressive Conservatives won 72 seats in the 83-seat Legislative Assembly, an increase from the 62 that the party had won in the previous election and only two seats short of Ralph Klein's 2001 landslide.^[35] Political analysts attributed the party's win to its ability to present Stelmach as "a cautious, straightforward and hard-working man with a plan for Alberta's future".^[36]

Energy and environmental policy

Much of Stelmach's term as Premier has been dominated by questions related to the Athabasca Oil Sands. The rapid development of these reserves was fuelling the Alberta economy's strong growth, but also raised environmental questions. After winning the Premiership, Stelmach emphasized that he had no intention of taking measures that would slow down oilsands development and suggested that the economy would find its own appropriate growth rate.^[37] He aggressively defended Alberta's oil at home and abroad, and called the idea that it was extracted at an unacceptably high environmental cost "a myth".^[38][39] When Liberal Party of Canada leader Stéphane Dion proposed a federal carbon tax to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, Stelmach rejected the policy on the basis that it would hurt the economy and would unfairly penalize the western provinces.^[40] Instead, he has championed the development of carbon capture technology.^[41] In July 2008, Stelmach announced $2 billion worth of funding for carbon capture initiatives, for which he was applauded by industry groups.^[42] However, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business called it "a huge amount of money to spend on something that isn't proven",^[43] and Mike Hudema of Greenpeace suggesting that there were better environmental uses of the money available.^[44]

Stelmach has been a proponent of development of the oil sands.

Though Stelmach pledged not to do anything to curb the development of the oilsands, he did promise to review royalty rates—the rates paid by oil companies for the privilege of extracting Alberta's oil. He also committed to reducing the proportion of bitumen that left Alberta to be upgraded out of province, likening the export of bitumen to "scraping off the top soil" from farmland.^[37] Soon after becoming Premier, he commissioned the Alberta Royalty Review panel to make recommendations on the province's royalty regime; opposition politicians had accused the government of undercharging substantially. Stelmach rejected many of the panel's recommendations, but did increase royalty rates by approximately 20% (25% less than recommended by the panel).^[45] Just after the 2008 election, Stelmach's government announced a five year royalty break worth $237 million per year to encourage development that it feared would have become uneconomical under the new plan.^[46] He was less decisive in increasing in-province bitumen upgrading; in 2008 he conceded that Alberta would continue upgrading between sixty and sixty-five percent of the bitumen it produced for the foreseeable future, rather than the seventy-two percent target he had previously announced for 2016.^[47] This admission came in the wake of his government's approval of three new pipelines designed to export bitumen.^[47]

In January 2008, Stelmach unveiled the province's "made in Alberta"—as distinct from imposed by the federal government or by international treaty—plan to cut carbon emissions in order to fight global warming. The plan called for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14% (from 2007 levels) by 2050.^[48] Environmental groups and opposition parties suggested that this was insufficient in light of British Columbia's plan to cut emissions by 80% (from 2007 levels) during the same period, but Stelmach argued that Alberta's position as a supplier of oil to the rest of the country justified relatively higher emissions.^[49] This was followed in June by the unveiling of the government's campaign to ask Albertans to make "one simple act"—such as composting, using reusable shopping bags, and replacing incandescent light bulbs with the more efficient fluorescent bulbs.^[50] Opponents argued that the emphasis on personal responsibility by individuals did nothing to address the greater environmental damage caused by the development of the Athabasca Oil Sands.^[51]

Energy and Utilities Board affair

In June 2007, the government-mandated Alberta Energy and Utilities Board admitted that it had hired private investigators to spy on landowners who opposed the construction of a major power line in the Rimbey area.^[52] Stelmach initially downplayed the incident, but ordered a judicial investigation once the province's Information and Privacy Commissioner initiated an investigation of his own.^[53] This investigation found that the EUB had violated provincial law and infringed on the landowners' privacy, while the judicial investigation criticized the EUB's tactics as "repulsive". The opposition parties called for the dismissal of the entire EUB and Energy Minister Mel Knight; Stelmach instead opted to appoint a new EUB chair.^[54]

Activist Mike Hudema holding a depiction of Stelmach while protesting Bill 46.

Stelmach's government also responded with legislation entitled the Alberta Utilities Commission Act (Bill 46), which would split the EUB into two parts: the Alberta Utilities Commission (responsible for regulating utilities) and the Energy Resources Conservation Board (responsible for regulating oil and gas). The legislation was controversial, as elements of the EUB's governing legislation that provided for public notice and consultation in the event of energy construction projects were left out. Opposition parties and advocacy groups charged that this was an assault on both landowners' rights and the environment.^[55] The legislation ultimately passed, and took effect at the beginning of 2008.^[56]

Health policy

Ed Stelmach's policy on health care has been highlighted by his removal of the province's health care premiums effective the end of 2008.^[57] Critics had denounced the premiums as being regressive, both because they were the same amount regardless of the payer's income and because people with better-paying jobs often had their premiums covered by their employer. The opposition Liberal and New Democratic parties had long called for their removal.^[58] This elimination was announced in a throne speech immediately before the dissolution of the legislature for the 2008 election, although it was initially promised to take effect by 2012.^[58] During this campaign, Stelmach promised to increase the capacity of Alberta universities to train doctors and nurses over four years, eventually resulting in the graduation of 225 more doctors, 350 more registered nurses, and 220 licensed practical nurses.^[59] After the registrar of the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons called the plan unfeasible, Health Minister Dave Hancock clarified that most of the increase would in fact come from the immigration of foreign doctors to Alberta, rather than from in-province training.^[60]

Following the election, Stelmach's new Minister of Health, Ron Liepert, released the government's new health plan. In it, Liepert refused to characterize the problems in the health care system as being the result of doctor shortages, and instead promised structural reforms. He indicated that these may include consolidating health authorities, closing rural hospitals, and de-listing some health services from coverage under the province's public health insurance scheme.^[61] In May, the government took the first step in implementing these structural reforms by combining the province's nine health authorities into one health "superboard".^[62]

In June 2008, three senior health officials announced that they would be leaving the province's employment at the expiration of their contracts in August. Liepert blamed their departures on better offers from other employers, although New Democrat leader Brian Mason speculated that the government's health restructuring may have been to blame.^[63] Detractors pointed out that the optics of allowing the employees to depart for more money elsewhere soon after the government had approved a substantial pay hike for cabinet ministers were not good.^[64]

Democratic reform

Stelmach returned all-party committees to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, where they had not existed since early in Ralph Klein's tenure.

Klein's government had received criticism for reducing the importance of the legislature by sitting it fewer days than any other province's legislature and for directing business through standing policy committees of the Progressive Conservative caucus. These committees met in private, unlike the legislature's all-party committees, which fell almost entirely out of use during the Klein years. In April 2007, Stelmach initiated the creation of four new legislative "policy field committees" which would include opposition representation.^[65] The same month, his government introduced new legislation on conflicts of interest, such that former cabinet ministers would have to wait one year before doing business with the government or lobbying it on behalf of third parties (up from six months). It also created a similar cooling-off period for senior bureaucrats, which lasted six months.^[66] However, an order in council passed by Stelmach's cabinet shortly before the 2008 election delayed the implementation of these rules until one month after the election, meaning that cabinet ministers who retired or lost their bids for re-election would be exempt from the new rules.^[67]

Teachers pension liability

During his first year in office, Stelmach and his education minister Ron Liepert concluded a deal with the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) in which the province agreed to contribute $2.1 billion towards the $6.6 billion unfunded pension liability. This liability resulted from insufficient contributions to the teachers' pension plan during the period leading up to 1992. In exchange, the ATA agreed to a five-year contract extension. The deal was applauded by the opposition Liberals and New Democrats, but was criticized by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which called for a plebiscite on the issue.^[68]

Relationship with Calgary

Many Calgarians have been critical of Stelmach, suggesting that, as a farmer from the central part of the province, he is biased against Calgary and urban Alberta in general. They pointed to the fact that the city, which was considered the heartland of Jim Dinning's support during the leadership race, had only three members (Ron Liepert, Ron Stevens, and Greg Melchin) in his first eighteen-member cabinet (Stelmach supporters pointed out that Edmonton had only one minister, Dave Hancock).^[69][70] Stelmach also found himself in a feud with Calgary mayor Dave Bronconnier during his first year as premier as Bronconnier accused Stelmach of failing to keep a promise to the city regarding infrastructure spending during his first budget.^[71][72] Several Stelmach supporters suggested that the mayor, a Liberal, might be angling to take over as leader of the official opposition if Kevin Taft fumbled.^[71] During the by-election to fill Ralph Klein's Calgary Elbow seat, P.C. candidate Brian Heninger went so far as to tell a voter he'd like to choke his party's leader (Stelmach told media that this was the sort of enthusiasm he wanted from his MLAs).^[73][74] Heninger was defeated by Liberal Craig Cheffins and, in the 2008 election, Calgary was the only area of the province in which Stelmach lost seats on his way to an increased majority.^[35]

Domain name controversy and comparisons to Harry Strom

In December 2007, Stelmach threatened legal action against blogger and former Liberal staffer Dave Cournoyer for misappropriating Stelmach's persona by registering the domain name "edstelmach.ca". Cournoyer had registered the domain for $14 in April 2007, four months after Stelmach became premier, and had directed it to the Wikipedia article on Harry Strom.^[75][76] Early in his tenure, Stelmach had been compared to Strom, the last Social Credit premier of the province. Strom was regarded as honest but ineffective and survived only long enough as Premier to lose the 1971 election soundly.^[77][78] These comparisons intensified when Liberal Craig Cheffins was elected in Klein's Calgary Elbow riding in a 2007 by-election; Strom's 1971 defeat had been preceded by a pair of 1969 by-election losses, one of them in Ernest Manning's Strathcona East.^[79]

Pay increases

Shortly after winning an increased majority in the 2008 election, Stelmach's cabinet approved substantial raises for themselves, increasing the salary paid to cabinet ministers from $142,000 to $184,000 and that paid to the Premier from $159,450 to $213,450. The increases also affect the severance paid to ministers who resign or are defeated in elections—under the program implemented by Ralph Klein's government to replace the previously existing pension program, departing MLAs receive three months' pay for every year they served, with the level of the pay based on their three highest-earning years.^[80] The increases were attacked by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the opposition parties, but Stelmach defended the raises as the first received by cabinet ministers in fifteen years and as being necessary to attract qualified people to politics.^[81]

Electoral record

As party leader

¹ Numbers from the 2004 election refer to the Alberta Alliance Party which, along with the Wildrose Party (which did not contest the 2004 election) merged in 2007 to form the Wildrose Alliance Party.

As MLA

Party leadership contests

References

External links

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• Edward Stelmach elected new Alberta premier
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