Cooper to resign as MLA and Speaker to take on job as Alberta representative in D.C.
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Alberta Speaker Nathan Cooper is set to resign from his role as MLA and take on a new job as the province's representative in Washington beginning next month.
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Cooper, 45, has served as MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills for close to a decade and will replace former Edmonton Conservative MP James Rajotte in the D.C.-based diplomatic post.
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He shared news of his new role in an address to the legislative assembly Wednesday afternoon, saying Premier Danielle Smith had offered him the position and he had accepted.
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'Standing alongside each of you and serving you has been a dream that I've lived out each day, but today that dream comes to an end,' he said.
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'I believe that we are at a critical time in our province and in our country with respect to how we interact with the world and with the United States of America. How we do that interaction, I believe, is just as important as what we do to interact.'
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In a news release, Smith described Cooper's new role as 'focusing on attracting investment, expanding trade opportunities and maintaining the relationships needed to connect Alberta with key decision makers.'
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'I look forward to continuing to work closely with Nathan as we advocate for Albertans and for our province's interests in Washington and across the U.S.,' Smith said.
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Government house leader Joseph Schow spoke in the assembly and thanked Cooper for his service.
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'We all know we will miss the chamber time with you, with a well-timed joke to break the tension, with your careful and steady hand in managing this chamber.'
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Opposition house leader Christina Grey echoed those sentiments, noting Cooper's 'fairness, humanity, knowledge and deep respect for parliamentary tradition.'
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Cooper said his resignation as Speaker takes effect on Monday evening at midnight, with a new Speaker to be selected by MLAs the following day.
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He said he will continue as a backbench MLA until his new job commences in June.
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Cooper's departure means there are now three vacancies in the assembly, along with those created by resignations of New Democrat MLAs Rachel Notley (Edmonton Strathcona) and Rod Loyola (Edmonton Ellerslie).
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The Edmonton Strathcona byelection must be called by the end of next month, though Smith indicated on her radio show last weekend that the call could come sooner than that.
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Minus Cooper, there are 46 UCP members in the assembly, just two more than needed for a majority given no vacancies.
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