The
Executive Council of Alberta, or the
Cabinet of Alberta, is the Province of Alberta's provincial equivalent to the
Executive Council (Canada) or
Cabinet of Canada although smaller in size. The government of the province of Alberta is a
constitutional monarchy and
parliamentary democracy with a
unicameral legislature—the
Legislative Assembly, which consists of 87 members elected
first past the post (FPTP) from single-member constituencies. The Executive Council of Alberta is officially headed by the
Lieutenant-Governor, as representative of the
Queen in Right of Alberta and is referred to as the
Governor-in-Council. Although the lieutenant governor is technically the most powerful person in Alberta, he is in reality a
figurehead whose actions are restricted by custom and
constitutional convention. The government is therefore headed by the
premier. The current premier is
Rachel Notley, who was sworn in as the 17th premier on May 24, 2015. The premier is normally a member of the Legislative Assembly, and draws all the members of the Cabinet from among the members of the Legislative Assembly. The legislative powers in the province however, lie with the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Its government resembles that of the other
Canadian provinces. The
capital of the province is
Edmonton, where the
Alberta Legislative Building is located. Government is conducted after the
Westminster model.