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New provincial cabinet shuts out Fort McMurray

Despite frequent rumours to the contrary, Fort McMurray will not be represented in the new provincial cabinet in any senior positions.

Neither Fort McMurray–Wood Buffalo MLA Mike Allen, nor Fort McMurray–Conklin MLA Don Scott were called to the front bench today by Premier Alison Redford.

However, Scott was named to a junior position of Associate Minister for Accountability, Transparency & Transformation.

Redford broke the news of new ministers via her Twitter feed at 1 o’clock.

No Fort McMurray MLA has served in cabinet since 2008, when Guy Boutilier was Aboriginal, Intergovernmental, and International Relations Minister.

“The Premier selected her cabinet based on what she thought would deliver the best for the province at this time,” Allen said. “I’ll just work in whatever capacity I can to work my way up the ranks, and just be part of the team.”

Nearby MLA Jeff Johnson (Athabasca-Redwater) was promoted to Education Minister, while Wayne Drysdale succeeds him in Infrastructure and will handle the upcoming Urban Development Sub-Region (UDSR) for the municipality.

Calgary-area MLA Ric McIver was named the new Transportation Minister.

“I know Wayne and Ric very well,” said Allen. “They’re very competent individuals and they’re very positive individuals. I know that Don and I will be able to get some strong results with them.”

Doug Griffiths remains the Minister of Municipal Affairs, while former AHS head Ken Hughes takes over as Minister of Energy.

The full cabinet:

Deputy Premier: Thomas Lukaszuk
Finance: Doug Horner
Human Services: Dave Hancock
International and Intergovernmental Relations: Cal Dallas
Environment & Sustainable Resource Development: Diana McQueen
Health: Fred Horne
Energy: Ken Hughes
Education: Jeff Johnson
Agriculture and Rural Development: Verlyn Olson
Justice & Solicitor General: Jonathan Denis
Municipal Affairs: Doug Griffiths
Aboriginal Relations: Robin Campbell
Culture: Heather Klimchuk
Service Alberta: Manmeet Bhullar
Infrastructure: Wayne Drysdale
Enterprise & Advanced Education: Stephen Khan
Transportation: Ric McIver
Tourism, Parks, Recreation: Christine Cusanelli

Published May 8, 2012