Veteran Alberta agriculture minister keeps post as new premier takes control

Jim Prentice has been sworn in as Alberta’s new premier with a promise of change and a smaller cabinet, which includes two unelected members.

Prentice left his job as executive vice-president of CIBC to run for the Progressive Conservative leadership earlier this year. The job opened following the exit of premier Alison Redford, who resigned in March amidst spending scandals. She also resigned her seat in the legislature.

Prentice, 58, was elected in a landslide Sept. 6. A former Calgary lawyer, he entered federal politics 10 years ago and held cabinet posts in environment, industry and aboriginal affairs and northern development.

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Sworn in on Sept. 15, he will handle the ministries of international and intergovernmental relations and aboriginal relations along with the premier’s duties.

He does not have a seat, and two of his new ministers are also unelected. Stephen Mandel, a former mayor of Edmonton, is minister of health, and Gordon Dirks, a former chair of the Calgary public school board, is minister of education.

All will run in byelections before the fall sitting, Prentice said after his swearing in.

Verlyn Olson remains agriculture minister, which rural leaders said they appreciate. They also praised some of the changes, such as Diana McQueen moving from environment to municipal affairs.

“The ministers that we deal with in rural Alberta are known to us,” said Bob Bars of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties.

“It will be good for rural Alberta.”

He and Humphrey Banack of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture want to meet with the new ministers as soon as possible to keep issues such as transportation, taxation and accessible rural health care on the front burner.

Bars praised Prentice’s decision to take on two cabinet posts.

“Those are things the premier should be dealing with. We need the pipelines and we need to get oil off the rail cars so we can start moving grain,” he said.

Other ministries that did not change included solicitor general and justice minister Jonathan Denis, transportation minister Wayne Drysdale and associate minister of persons with disabilities Naresh Bhardwaj.

Ric McIver, one of Prentice’s rivals for the leadership, was named minister of job, skills, labour and training.

The new cabinet also includes: