5th Alberta Legislature

5th Alberta Legislature
Majority parliament
2 February 1922 – 25 May 1926
Parliament leaders
Premier	Herbert Greenfield August 13, 1921 – November 23, 1925
	John Edward Brownlee November 23, 1925 – July 10, 1934
Cabinets	Greenfield cabinet Brownlee cabinet
Leader of the Opposition	John Robert Boyle February 2, 1922 – April 12, 1924
	Charles Richmond Mitchell February 19, 1925 – March 12, 1926
	John C. Bowen March 15, 1926 – June 28, 1926
Party caucuses
Government	United Farmers of Alberta
Opposition	Liberal Party
Crossbench	Dominion Labor Party
	Conservative Party
Legislative Assembly
Speaker of the Assembly	Oran McPherson February 2, 1922 – May 25, 1926
Members	61 MLA seats
Sovereign
Monarch	George V May 6, 1910 – January 20, 1936
Lieutenant Governor	Hon. Robert George Brett October 20, 1915 – October 29, 1925
	Hon. William Egbert October 29, 1925 – May 5, 1931
Sessions
1st session February 2, 1922 – March 28, 1922
2nd session July 25, 1922 – July 31, 1922
3rd session January 23, 1923 – April 21, 1923
4th session January 28, 1924 – April 12, 1924
5th session February 19, 1925 – August 6, 1925
6th session February 11, 1926 – May 22, 1926
← 4th → 6th

The 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from February 2, 1922, to May 25, 1926, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 1921 Alberta general election held on July 18, 1921. The Legislature officially resumed on February 2, 1922, and continued until the sixth session was prorogued on May 22, 1926 and dissolved on May 25, 1926, prior to the 1926 Alberta general election.^[1]

Alberta's fifth government was controlled by the majority United Farmers of Alberta led by Premier Herbert Greenfield, who would resign following a push from the party on November 23, 1925, and was replaced by John Edward Brownlee. The Official Opposition was the Alberta Liberal Party led by John Robert Boyle, and later Charles Richmond Mitchell, and eventually future Lieutenant Governor of Alberta John C. Bowen. The Speaker was Oran McPherson.

Speaker

Premier Herbert Greenfield nominated the government's preferred candidate for speaker, Oran McPherson, only to have one of his UFA backbenchers, Alex Moore, nominate Independent Conservative John Smith Stewart; Stewart spared the government embarrassment by declining the nomination.^[2]

Bills

Wheat Board

The Legislature would pass An Act to Confer Certain Powers upon the Canadian Wheat Board (Bill 1) during the short second session in August 1922. The bill conferred powers to the create the Alberta Wheat Pool.^[3]

Debt Adjustment Act

The Debt Adjustment Act (Bill 49) of 1923 was designed to adjust farmers' debts to a level that they could actually pay, thus allowing them to carry on while still ensuring that creditors received as much as was feasible.^[4] In the words of University of Calgary professor David C. Jones, the bill offered "solace, but no real satisfaction".^[5] According to Jones, Greenfield's attempts to rescue southern Alberta from agricultural calamity were probably doomed to failure.^[6] Even so, Greenfield had called the situation his top priority, and his failure to bring it to a successful resolution cost him politically.^[7]

Government Liquor Control Act of Alberta

The Government Liquor Control Act of Alberta (Bill 14) passed in the fourth session in 1924. The bill repealed prohibition which had been instituted following a 1916 referendum. The Government held a referendum on the matter in autumn 1923 which saw Albertans vote decisively for the repeal of prohibition. Bill 14 would be subject to a free vote in the legislature, and while the legislation passed, the new measures were divisive, pitting community leaders who wanted their towns to remain "dry" against those who wanted to apply for liquor licences, and different would-be saloon-keepers against one another in competing for the government-issued licences.^[8]

Membership in the 5th Alberta Legislature

Standings changes since the 5th general election

1. Exact date the Speaker received resignation unknown, nomination deadline date for the 1925 federal election used. All were received by Speaker Oran McPherson after September 29 and before October 17.

References

Works cited

• Foster, Franklin L. (1981). John E. Brownlee: A Biography. Lloydminster, Alberta: Foster Learning Inc. ISBN 978-1-55220-004-9.
• Foster, Franklin L. (2004). "John E. Brownlee". In Bradford J. Rennie (ed.). Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century. Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. ISBN 0-88977-151-0.
• Jones, David C. (2004). "Herbert W. Greenfield". In Bradford J. Rennie (ed.). Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century. Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. ISBN 0-88977-151-0.

Further reading

• Normandin, A. L., ed. (1926). The Canadian Parliamentary Guide. Ottawa: Mortimer Company Ltd. ISSN 0315-6168. OCLC 893686591. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
• Office of the Chief Electoral Officer; Legislative Assembly Office (2006). A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005. The Centennial Series. Edmonton, AB: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. ISBN 0-9689217-8-7. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
• Perry, Sandra E.; Footz, Valerie L. (2006). Massolin, Philip A. (ed.). A Higher Duty: Speakers of the Legislative Assemblies. Edmonton, AB: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. ISBN 0-9689217-3-6. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

External links

• Alberta Legislative Assembly Website
• Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Book
• By-elections 1905 to present

This page was last edited on 13 May 2023, at 20:11