Alberta legislature Speaker Nathan Cooper to resign seat, become rep to United States

EDMONTON — The Speaker of the Alberta legislature is resigning his seat in the assembly to become the province’s representative to the United States.

“Serving this assembly has been one of the greatest honours of my lifetime,” Nathan Cooper said Wednesday in a speech to the house announcing his resignation.

“Working as the assembly’s chief diplomat has equipped me in, and to be ready for, my next role serving Albertans in a new and meaningful way.”

Cooper will replace former Edmonton-area member of Parliament James Rajotte as Alberta’s U.S. representative. He held the role for nearly five years.

A government news release says Rajotte will now serve as a senior adviser to Premier Danielle Smith.

“In this evolving landscape, Alberta must maintain and build on our ties with U.S. officials, and Nathan Cooper is the right choice to fill this important role,” Smith said in the release.

“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.”

The government says Cooper will be based in Washington and will look to attract investment, expand trade opportunities and maintain relationships to keep Alberta connected to decision-makers south of the border.

Cooper told the house that he will officially resign as Speaker on Monday, and an election of legislature members for a new Speaker will take place Tuesday.

The Speaker’s role is to preside over debates and proceedings in the house in a non-partisan manner. The Speaker also doesn’t vote on legislation.

In his speech Wednesday, Cooper said his nearly six years in the role made him the eighth-longest-serving Speaker in Alberta’s history.

“I’ve sat through 345 question periods, totalling 287 hours or 12 full days of question periods,” Cooper said.

“I presided over 2,195 hours of debate or 91 full 24-hour periods, and a whopping 17.9 million words have been spilled on the floor of the assembly.”

He was first elected in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills as a member of the Wildrose Party in 2015.

When the party merged with the Progressive Conservatives two years later, Cooper became the United Conservative Party’s first leader on an interim basis before it held a formal leadership race and former premier Jason Kenney was given the reins.

Cooper was elected Speaker by fellow MLAs following the 2019 provincial election and was re-elected to the role in 2023.

He found himself in hot water in 2021 after he was one of 16 United Conservative caucus members who signed a letter speaking against COVID-19 public health restrictions imposed by Kenney’s government.

The following week he apologized for not remaining neutral on government matters, as is expected from the Speaker.

On Wednesday, Cooper received a standing ovation from both sides of the house as he rang in the last question period under his watch.

“Honourable members we will have order!” he yelled sarcastically while the clapping and cheering continued.

House leaders from both parties also gave speeches thanking Cooper for his time as Speaker.

“Mr. Speaker 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,” said government house leader Joseph Schow.

Opposition house leader Christina Gray said the job of the Speaker “is not for the faint of heart” but it’s a job that Cooper handled admirably.

“Your fairness, humanity, knowledge and deep respect of parliamentary tradition has absolutely made this legislature more thoughtful and more respectful,” Gray said.

Individual members from both parties shared the same sentiment with reporters earlier Wednesday, with Parks Minister Todd Loewen saying Cooper kept shenanigans to a minimum.

“He provides good balance in there and is able to keep rein on some of the people that are — and of course I may have been in that place myself a couple times — creating ruckus in the legislature,” he said.

Opposition NDP education critic Amanda Chapman said Cooper was well regarded and fair.

When asked if she’d want to fill the shoes he leaves behind, Chapman said she wasn’t “the right kind of nerd” to be Speaker.

“You have to be really into all of the parliamentary wonkiness, although it would be cool because I think that you get a portrait in one of the galleries,” she said.

Cooper said he will officially resign his seat in the assembly next month, which will leave Alberta with three vacant ridings that the premier will need to call byelections for.

With Cooper’s seat empty, the United Conservative Party will hold 46 seats in the 87-seat house. The Opposition NDP currently has 36 seats and there are two Independent members.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press