Ron Stevens
Encyclopedia
Ron Stevens, Q.C. is a Canadian
politician. He was a member of the current Legislative Assembly of Alberta
representing the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore
as a Progressive Conservative
until his resignation on May 15, 2009. He was subsequently appointed a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
on May 20, 2009 by the government of Canada.
. He graduated from the University of Calgary
in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1975 from the University of Alberta
. Prior to being elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
, Stevens worked as a civil litigation lawyer and mediator with a major law firm in Calgary
. In 1996, he was appointed Queen's Council.
An active community member, Stevens served in the role of president of the Palliser Bayview Pumphill Community Association, director of the Community Mediation Calgary Society, director of the Federation of Calgary Communities, and director and vice chair of the Calgary Housing Authority.
in the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore
. In that election, he received 58% of the vote. In the 2001 provincial election
that followed, Stevens was reelected with 68% of the popular vote. That same year, he was appointed by Premier Ralph Klein as Minister of Gaming and was responsible for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission and the Alberta Lottery Fund. Following the 2004 provincial election
, where he received 50% of the vote, Stevens was sworn in as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. On June 27, 2007, he was named Alberta's Deputy Premier by newly-elected Premier Ed Stelmach
. In the 2008 provincial election, Stevens was elected for a fourth time receiving 51% of the vote. On March 12, 2008, he was sworn in as Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations.
Since becoming an MLA, Stevens has served in a variety of capacities on numerous boards and committees. He has held the title of Deputy Government House Leader, the position of chair for the Legislative Review Committee, the Oil Sands Ministerial Strategy Committee (Radke Report), Health Information Legislation Committee, the Standing Policy Committee on Learning, the Private Schools Funding Task Force, the Non-Profit Tax Exemption Review Committee, the position of vice chair of the Agenda and Priorities Committee and the Standing Policy Committee on Justice and Government Services, and the position of deputy chair of the Select Special Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Review Committee. He has also served as a member of more than ten other committees.
As an MLA, Stevens successfully sponsored two governmental bills: the Holocaust Memorial Day and Genocide Remembrance Act and the Irrigation Districts Act. He also sponsored one private member's bill during his first term in office: the Emblems of Alberta (Alberta Dress Tartan) Amendment Act, 2000.
Currently, in addition to his responsibilities as MLA, Minister, and Deputy Premier, Stevens serves as a member of Treasury Board, the Agenda and Priorities Committee, and the Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Committee.
At the time, Stevens was serving as Alberta's Gaming Minister. His three-day Hawaiian stopover occurred as he was returning from Australia where he had been studying that country's gaming system.
"I don't recall whether it was a three-day stop or not," Stevens told CBC when questioned about the trip. "But I do recall that we did it in that fashion because it was less expensive than flying business class. In other words, it was the most economic way of doing it."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician. He was a member of the current Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
representing the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore
Calgary-Glenmore
Calgary Glenmore is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.The electoral riding of Calgary Glenmore is one of two original Calgary ridings of the seven that still survives from the 1959 redistribution of the Calgary riding...
as a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
until his resignation on May 15, 2009. He was subsequently appointed a Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta is the superior court of the Canadian province of Alberta....
on May 20, 2009 by the government of Canada.
Early life
Stevens was born September 17, 1949 in Empress, AlbertaEmpress, Alberta
- See also :*List of communities in Alberta*List of villages in Alberta*Monarchy in Alberta- References :...
. He graduated from the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1975 from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. Prior to being elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
, Stevens worked as a civil litigation lawyer and mediator with a major law firm in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. In 1996, he was appointed Queen's Council.
An active community member, Stevens served in the role of president of the Palliser Bayview Pumphill Community Association, director of the Community Mediation Calgary Society, director of the Federation of Calgary Communities, and director and vice chair of the Calgary Housing Authority.
Political career
Stevens first sought public office in the 1997 provincial electionAlberta general election, 1997
The Alberta general election of 1997 was the twenty-fourth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 11, 1997 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
in the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore
Calgary-Glenmore
Calgary Glenmore is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.The electoral riding of Calgary Glenmore is one of two original Calgary ridings of the seven that still survives from the 1959 redistribution of the Calgary riding...
. In that election, he received 58% of the vote. In the 2001 provincial election
Alberta general election, 2001
The Alberta general election of 2001 was the twenty-fifth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
that followed, Stevens was reelected with 68% of the popular vote. That same year, he was appointed by Premier Ralph Klein as Minister of Gaming and was responsible for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission and the Alberta Lottery Fund. Following the 2004 provincial election
Alberta general election, 2004
The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, where he received 50% of the vote, Stevens was sworn in as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. On June 27, 2007, he was named Alberta's Deputy Premier by newly-elected Premier Ed Stelmach
Ed Stelmach
Edward Michael "Ed" Stelmach, MLA is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 2006 to 2011. 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...
. In the 2008 provincial election, Stevens was elected for a fourth time receiving 51% of the vote. On March 12, 2008, he was sworn in as Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations.
Since becoming an MLA, Stevens has served in a variety of capacities on numerous boards and committees. He has held the title of Deputy Government House Leader, the position of chair for the Legislative Review Committee, the Oil Sands Ministerial Strategy Committee (Radke Report), Health Information Legislation Committee, the Standing Policy Committee on Learning, the Private Schools Funding Task Force, the Non-Profit Tax Exemption Review Committee, the position of vice chair of the Agenda and Priorities Committee and the Standing Policy Committee on Justice and Government Services, and the position of deputy chair of the Select Special Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Review Committee. He has also served as a member of more than ten other committees.
As an MLA, Stevens successfully sponsored two governmental bills: the Holocaust Memorial Day and Genocide Remembrance Act and the Irrigation Districts Act. He also sponsored one private member's bill during his first term in office: the Emblems of Alberta (Alberta Dress Tartan) Amendment Act, 2000.
Currently, in addition to his responsibilities as MLA, Minister, and Deputy Premier, Stevens serves as a member of Treasury Board, the Agenda and Priorities Committee, and the Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Committee.
Hawaiian Stopover Controversy
In October 2007, CBC News Calgary reported that Ron Stevens had used his government credit card to pay for drinks and meals for his wife and four other people while on a stopover in Hawaii in 2003.At the time, Stevens was serving as Alberta's Gaming Minister. His three-day Hawaiian stopover occurred as he was returning from Australia where he had been studying that country's gaming system.
"I don't recall whether it was a three-day stop or not," Stevens told CBC when questioned about the trip. "But I do recall that we did it in that fashion because it was less expensive than flying business class. In other words, it was the most economic way of doing it."
Election results
| 2008 Alberta general election results ( Calgary-Glenmore Calgary-Glenmore Calgary Glenmore is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.The electoral riding of Calgary Glenmore is one of two original Calgary ridings of the seven that still survives from the 1959 redistribution of the Calgary riding... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 45.6% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta... |
Ron Stevens | 6,441 | 51% |
Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
Avalon Roberts | 4,175 | 33% |
Wildrose Alliance Wildrose Alliance Party of Alberta The Wildrose Party, formerly Wildrose Alliance Party, is a conservative provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. It includes free market conservative, libertarian and socially conservative factions and was formed in 2008 following a merger of the Wildrose Party of Alberta and the Alberta... |
Ryan Sadler | 1,019 | 8% |
Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990... |
Arden Duncan Bonokoski | 547 | 4% |
NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
Holly Heffernan | 478 | 4% | |||||
| 2004 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 2004 The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results ( Calgary-Glenmore Calgary-Glenmore Calgary Glenmore is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.The electoral riding of Calgary Glenmore is one of two original Calgary ridings of the seven that still survives from the 1959 redistribution of the Calgary riding... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 48.4% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta... |
Ron Stevens | 6,263 | 50.5% |
Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
Avalon Roberts | 4,364 | 35.2% |
Alberta Alliance | Ernest McCutcheon | 571 | 4.6% |
Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990... |
Evan Sklarski | 532 | 4.3% |
NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
Holly Heffernan | 553 | 4.5% |
Social Credit | Larry Heather | 127 | 1.0% | |
| 2001 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 2001 The Alberta general election of 2001 was the twenty-fifth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results ( Calgary-Glenmore Calgary-Glenmore Calgary Glenmore is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.The electoral riding of Calgary Glenmore is one of two original Calgary ridings of the seven that still survives from the 1959 redistribution of the Calgary riding... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 60.6% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta... |
Ron Stevens | 9,678 | 67.7% |
Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
Michael Broadhurst | 3,708 | 25.9% |
NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
Jennifer Stewart | 441 | 3.1% |
Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990... |
James A. Kohut | 467 | 3.3% | |||||||||
| 1997 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1997 The Alberta general election of 1997 was the twenty-fourth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 11, 1997 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results ( Calgary-Glenmore Calgary-Glenmore Calgary Glenmore is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.The electoral riding of Calgary Glenmore is one of two original Calgary ridings of the seven that still survives from the 1959 redistribution of the Calgary riding... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 59.6% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta... |
Ron Stevens | 8,247 | 58.1% |
Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
Wayne Stewart | 4,919 | 34.7% |
NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
Grace Johner | 435 | 3.1% |
Social Credit | Vernon Cook | 583 | 4.1% | |||||||||