Government

The head of Alberta's provincial government is the premier, who is leader of the majority party in the one-house provincial legislature, the Legislative Assembly. The premier is usually the leader of the party with the most seats in the assembly, and chooses a cabinet from members of the majority party. The 83 members of the assembly are elected by the people. They serve five-year terms unless the assembly is dissolved before that time by the lieutenant governor. Then new elections are held.

The lieutenant governor, who is appointed by the federal government to a five-year term, represents the British monarch and the federal government. The lieutenant governor acts only on the advice of the provincial Executive Council, which consists of the premier and the cabinet. The Legislative Assembly can be dissolved on the advice of the premier or when the premier fails to win a vote of confidence.

Alberta has 6 members (appointed by the federal government) in the Senate and 26 elected members of the House of Commons of the national Parliament of Canada. Local governmental units include counties and various kinds of municipalities.

The Court of Appeal, whose members are appointed by the governor general in council, is the highest court in Alberta. It hears only appeals in civil and criminal cases. It has a chief justice and 12 full-time justices. The Court of Queen's Bench hears all cases involving murder, treason and other major crimes. It has a chief justice, an associate chief justice and 61 judges. Judges on both courts may serve until they are 75 years old.