Alberta’s Premier Ed Stelmach: The Anomalous Case of Leadership Selection and Removal in a Canadian Province1

Why would a new provincial premier, having in his first general election increased his governing party’s seats in the legislature from 62 to 72 out of 83, resign just three years later? Normally, in Canada a provincial first minister remains in office so long as s/he wins elections, and either retires of his/her own accord or is forced to resign after an electoral defeat. Ed Stelmach’s brief tenure (2006–11) as premier of Alberta is a singular anomaly in that regard. Relying on interviews with the principal players, monographic and newspaper accounts, and party as well as Elections Alberta websites, this article makes systematic comparisons between the major features of Stelmach’s term in office and his predecessors, Peter Lougheed and Ralph Klein. This leads to the conclusion that popularity with the voting public simply did not translate into popularity in the backrooms of Alberta politics, where it apparently counts most.