Political Career
Stevens first sought public office in the 1997 provincial election in the constituency of Calgary-Glenmore. In that election, he received 58% of the vote. In the 2001 provincial election that followed, Stevens was reelected with 68% of the popular vote. That same year, he was appointed by Premier Ralph Klein as Minister of Gaming and was responsible for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission and the Alberta Lottery Fund. Following the 2004 provincial election, where he received 50% of the vote, Stevens was sworn in as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. On June 27, 2007, he was named Alberta's Deputy Premier by newly-elected Premier Ed Stelmach. In the 2008 provincial election, Stevens was elected for a fourth time receiving 51% of the vote. On March 12, 2008, he was sworn in as Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations.
Since becoming an MLA, Stevens has served in a variety of capacities on numerous boards and committees. He has held the title of Deputy Government House Leader, the position of chair for the Legislative Review Committee, the Oil Sands Ministerial Strategy Committee (Radke Report), Health Information Legislation Committee, the Standing Policy Committee on Learning, the Private Schools Funding Task Force, the Non-Profit Tax Exemption Review Committee, the position of vice chair of the Agenda and Priorities Committee and the Standing Policy Committee on Justice and Government Services, and the position of deputy chair of the Select Special Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Review Committee. He has also served as a member of more than ten other committees.
As an MLA, Stevens successfully sponsored two governmental bills: the Holocaust Memorial Day and Genocide Remembrance Act and the Irrigation Districts Act. He also sponsored one private member's bill during his first term in office: the Emblems of Alberta (Alberta Dress Tartan) Amendment Act, 2000.
Currently, in addition to his responsibilities as MLA, Minister, and Deputy Premier, Stevens serves as a member of Treasury Board, the Agenda and Priorities Committee, and the Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Committee.
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