Your MLAs
Brian Mason, Leader
Edmonton-Highlands
Whether the issue is deregulation, high auto insurance rates, school cuts or fair treatment for seniors, Brian Mason's spirited performance in the legislature has made him a champion of Alberta families.
Brian Mason was active in Alberta politics early on, when he served as the Executive Director of the Alberta Federation of Students from 1977-1979 following his Political Science studies at the University of Alberta.
For the next several years, Brian was employed by Edmonton Transit Services as a bus driver, making headlines in 1989, when he appealed the provincial law that required municipal employees to resign their positions to run as municipal candidates.
Brian was elected Councilor for Ward 3 in October 1989. He remained at city council for 11 years, winning three more civic elections and gaining a reputation as a tough and effective voice for his constituents. During his years on Council, Brian was best known for his battles against the privatization of city services and utilities like Ed Tel and EPCOR.
In 2000, Brian made the switch to provincial politics, winning a by-election in Edmonton Highlands. On July 13, 2004, Brian became leader of Alberta’s NDP.
On the provincial scene, Brian has developed a reputation as the number one defender of ordinary families, leading battles to lower electricity rates, auto insurance premiums, and sky-rocketing rents. Brian has also distinguished himself as a passionate critic of Alberta’s treatment of seniors, and as the only political leader fighting for real change to the province’s bargain basement royalty regime.
Unlike the Liberal and Conservative leaders, Brian Mason is Alberta’s only political leader standing up to big oil and other large corporations. While the other parties accept hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations from big business, Brian has refused corporate donations and called for an end to corporate and union donations in Alberta politics.
Rachel Notley
Edmonton-Strathcona
Rachel Notley is an Edmonton based labour lawyer currently working as a Labour Relations Officer for the United Nurses of Alberta. She lives in Strathcona with her husband, Lou Arab, and their two children, Ethan and Sophie.
Born in Edmonton, Rachel Notley grew up in Fairview, Alberta as the oldest of three children to Grant and Sandy Notley.
Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science at the University of Alberta, and a law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School.
After law school, Notley articled for Edmonton labour lawyer Bob Blakely, and went on to work for the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees representing members with Workers' Compensation Board cases.
In 1994, she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she worked for the Health Sciences Association of BC as an Occupational Health and Safety Officer. During her time in BC, she also worked as a Ministerial Assistant to the Attorney General. In this role, she was part of the team that first expanded the application of BC's family relations laws to include same sex couples - several years before other governments took similar initiatives.
Notley acted as a representative of the BC Labour movement in the negotiation and drafting of some of the most progressive workplace health and safety standards in the country – standards that were subsequently gutted by the Liberal government.
During her time in Vancouver, Notley was active with “Moms on the Move,” an organization that advocated for the rights of special needs children. She is also a past Board member of the Vancouver Community College.
