Former Alberta agriculture minister Doug Horner has announced his resignation from Alberta politics after 14 years.
Horner said it was with “mixed emotions” that he will resign Jan. 31 as Progressive Conservative MLA for Spruce Grove-St. Albert.
He was first elected in 2001 and served as deputy premier, minister of agriculture, minister of advanced education and technology, president of the treasury board and minister of finance. Horner was agriculture minister from 2004-06 under premier Ralph Klein.
“I have seen our great province make tremendous strides, overcome unparalleled challenges and benefit from unprecedented growth,” he said.
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“I am proud to have a place in our provincial history books and to have carried on my family’s legacy of public service to Alberta,” he wrote on a Facebook page.
Horner’s grandfather was a senator from Saskatchewan, his father, Hugh Horner, was an MP under prime minister John Diefenbaker and a provincial minister of agriculture and deputy premier during the 1970s. His three uncles, Jack, Albert and Norval, were also federal MPs.
Horner was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in 2011 and placed third behind Alison Redford.
Alberta premier Jim Prentice said he was sorry to lose Horner, but acknowledged his 14 years of public service.
“Politics is not easy, public service is not easy,” said Prentice, adding he will be sorry to see Horner retire.
mary.macarthur@producer.com
