Alison Redford is a lawyer and Canadian politician who served as the Premier of Alberta from 2011 to 2014. Her time in office was turbulent; a major scandal erupted around her that ultimately forced her to step away from politics, as reported by edmonton-yes.com.
Childhood and Education
Alison was born on March 7, 1965, in Kitimat, British Columbia. As a child, she moved frequently with her family to various countries due to her father’s work in the oil industry. However, they eventually settled permanently in Calgary. Alison showed an interest in politics from her teenage years. In 1983, while still in high school, she was elected president of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Youth Association. After graduating from Bishop Carroll High School, Redford went on to study law at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law.
Career Beginnings
Starting in the 1980s, Redford became actively involved in provincial and federal politics. She served as a senior political advisor to Joe Clark, the Secretary of State for External Affairs, and worked in the office of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1988 to 1990. This experience allowed her to participate in serious international projects. Throughout the 1990s, Alison served as a technical consultant on constitutional and legal reform issues in various parts of Africa for the European Union, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the governments of Canada and Australia, focusing on human rights litigation, the development of educational programs, and policy reform matters.
In 1999, Redford was hired as a Public Liaison Officer for the Justice Reform Committee within the Government of Alberta. In December 2003, the Progressive Conservative Party merged with the Reform Party. In 2004, Redford unsuccessfully ran against MP Rob Anders for the nomination of the newly formed Conservative Party in the federal riding of Calgary-West.
In 2005, Redford became one of four international experts on the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB). Her role was to help prepare and conduct Afghanistan’s first national parliamentary elections, which took place in September 2005.
On the international stage, the politician worked in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines. Before her election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Redford managed a project on judicial training and legal reform for the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam.
In the Alberta provincial election held in 2008, Redford was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Calgary-Elbow riding. Subsequently, Premier Ed Stelmach appointed her as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. As an MLA, Redford also served on the Agenda and Priorities Committee, the Treasury Board, and the Cabinet Policy Committee on Public Safety and Services.
Premier of Alberta
In 2011, Alison Redford resigned from the Alberta Cabinet to run for the position of Premier. On October 2, 2011, Alison was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party on the second ballot. Her victory was unexpected, as Gary Mar had led after the first and second rounds of voting. The win was secured by the addition of votes from Doug Horner, who had placed third. As a result, Alison Redford became the 14th Premier of Alberta and the first female Premier of the province.
In 2012, Redford called a provincial election. Political commentators and media representatives closely followed her campaign against the right-wing Wildrose Party and its leader, Danielle Smith. Many believed that, for the first time in over 40 years, the Progressive Conservative Party would lose its majority or even suffer defeat. However, the election results disproved these predictions. On April 22, 2012, Redford’s party won, securing the 12th consecutive conservative majority government in the province’s history. Alison became the fourth woman in Canadian history to lead a provincial party to an election victory.
Exit from Politics and New Priorities
On March 23, 2014, Redford resigned as Premier after weeks of turmoil within her party caucus, during which members threatened to leave the party to sit as independents. Redford’s resignation followed a year of scandals related to her use of public funds for personal and partisan purposes. By the end of her premiership, Redford’s personal approval rating had dropped to 18%, and support for the Progressive Conservative Party stood at 19%. In August of that year, Alison stepped down from politics entirely. Following her resignation, the Auditor General of Alberta concluded that the former Premier and her office had made inappropriate use of government resources.
Amidst the scandals, Redford didn’t falter; instead, she refocused her efforts on strategic consulting in the energy sector and attracting investment to Alberta. As of 2025, Alison Redford serves as a member of the board of directors for the Invest Alberta Corporation. Her term is set to expire in 2027. Additionally, she works as a senior advisor at Strategia Worldwide, where she consults governments and private clients on regulatory issues within the oil, gas, and mining sectors.