Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Nathan Cooper (Canadian politician)
Canadian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Nathan Matthew Cooper MLA (born April 18, 1980) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 Alberta general elections to represent the electoral district of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills in the 29th, 30th, and 31st Alberta Legislatures. Cooper was a municipal councillor in Carstairs, Alberta prior to being elected to the Legislative Assembly. Cooper also served as Chief of Staff to the Wildrose Official Opposition caucus.[1][2]
On July 24, 2017, Cooper was elected interim leader of the new United Conservative Party caucus, becoming the Leader of the Opposition in that process. On that same date, he and his interim leadership team nominally assumed the leaderships of the two parties that merged to form the UCP, the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose. At the time, Alberta electoral law did not allow parties to formally merge. On 28 October 2017, Cooper's tenure as interim leader ended when former PC leader Jason Kenney was elected as the UCP's first full-time leader.
Cooper was first elected to serve as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on May 21, 2019.[3] He was reelected Speaker on June 20, 2023.[4]
On May 7, 2025 Cooper announced he would resign as MLA and Speaker of the House and move to a new job as Alberta's representative in Washington beginning in June 2025.[5]
He officially resigned his role as Speaker on May 13, 2025 and MLA on May 22.[6][7] The by-election to replace him is scheduled for June 23, 2025.[8]
Remove ads
Speaker of the House
Cooper was elected Speaker of the House in the Alberta Legislature on May 21, 2019 and reelected to a second term on June 20, 2023.[3][4]
He was nominated for reelection by Minister Nate Horner. Horner noted that Cooper that was "an absolute parliamentary and political nerd," and had done "a remarkable job" as Speaker of the 30th Legislature.[4]
COVID-19 letter controversy
In 2021, Cooper signed a letter opposing restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
Cooper was widely criticized for violating the Speaker's role of impartiality and impeding his ability to moderate debate. Former Speaker David Carter has suggested that Cooper should resign or be removed by a motion of non-confidence.[10]
He later apologized for violating the Speaker's traditional role of impartiality.[11] Former Speaker Robert Wanner stated that while he believed the apology was sincere, it did not go far enough to restore faith in his impartiality.[10]
Remove ads
Electoral history
2023 general election
2019 general election
2015 general election
Remove ads
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads