The Ministry of Culture of Alberta, commonly called Alberta Culture, is a ministry of the

Executive Council Executive Council may refer to: Government * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor * Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern * Ex ...

of the

Government of Alberta The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—i ...

. It the legal continuation of a ministry that has had many names since its creation in 1992, most recently as Alberta Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women. This is the not the first culture ministry; a previous one existed from 1971 to 1992. The current Alberta Culture is responsible for Alberta's

cultural industries The term culture industry (german: Kulturindustrie) was coined by the critical theorists Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), and was presented as critical vocabulary in the chapter "The Culture Industry: Enlightenme ...

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

and

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

, as well as the promotion of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...

. In 2021 the word "

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

" was dropped from the Ministry's name, but its organization remained unchanged. In 2022, the "Status of Women" was removed from the ministry's name but that portfolio stayed with the ministry with an associate minister specifically responsible, meanwhile multiculturalism was moved into a new ministry with trade and immigration.

Intra-ministerial organization

The Minister of Culture is appointed by the

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta The lieutenant governor of Alberta () is the viceregal representative in Alberta of the . The lieutenant governor is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the ...

on the advice of the

Premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. ...

and is responsible to the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sing ...

. The Ministry is then divided into the Department of Culture, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Alberta Advisory Council on the Francophonie.

Administrative history

The culture and status of women portfolios of the Alberta government have previously been overseen by separate ministers. They have also been sections within the portfolio of the same minister. These portfolios have also each been joined to other government departments at various points.

Previous Department of Culture (1971-1992)

The first minister of culture was appointed in 1971, but the Cultural Affairs Department within that ministry was founded in 1975 by Order in Council 518/1975, under the authority of the ''Public Service Administrative Transfers Act''. The minister responsible for this was known as the Minister Responsible for Culture (1975–1980), Minister of Culture (1980–1987), and Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism (1987–1992). Agencies which reported to the minister included the

Alberta Cultural Heritage Foundation Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territo ...

(1978–1987),

Alberta Multiculturalism Commission Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

(1987–1992),

Alberta Art Foundation Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to t ...

(1972–1991),

Alberta Foundation for the Performing Arts Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

(1978–1991),

Alberta Foundation for the Literary Arts Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...

(1984–1991),

Alberta Foundation for the Arts Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) is a crown agency charged with development and promotion of the arts in Alberta, Canada Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of th ...

(1991–1992),

Alberta Library Board Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

(1948–1992), and

Alberta Advisory Council on the Status of Women Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

(1986–1987). During this time the minister was responsible for implementing the following legislation:

Alberta Academy Act Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

Alberta Art Foundation Act Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

Alberta Emblems Act Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

, Alberta Foundation for the Arts Act, Alberta Heritage Day Act, Alberta Historical Resources Act, Alberta Order of Excellence Act,

Alberta Women's Bureau Act Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, ''Amusements Act'' (Part 3), Cultural Development Act, Cultural Foundations Act,

Department of Culture Act Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Department of Culture and Multiculturalism Act Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Foreign Cultural Property Immunity Act Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

, Glenbow-Alberta Institute Act,

Government House Act A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

Libraries Act A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

, and Registered Music Teachers' Association Act.

Merged with Tourism, Parks, and Recreation (1992-2015)

The Ministry of Community Development, commonly called Alberta Community Development, was a ministry of the

from 1992 to 2019. It was created in 1992 pursuant to the ''

Public Service Administrative Transfers Act In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlic ...

'',

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Ki ...

750/1992. It was created in 1992 from the previous Department of Culture (1915-1992) and the Department of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation (1992). It subsequently operated as Alberta Community Development (1992-2006), Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture (2006-2008), Alberta Culture and Community Spirit (2008 to 2011), Alberta Culture and Community Services (2011 to 2014). In 2015, the parks functions were lost to

Alberta Environment The Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas of Alberta (also commonly called Alberta Environment and Protected Areas) is the Alberta provincial ministry of the Executive Council of Alberta responsible for Environmental issues in Alberta, envi ...

and ministry was renamed Alberta Culture and Tourism (2015 to 2019).

Addition of Status of Women (2019-)

The ministry was rename Alberta Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women was in 2019. It was renamed Alberta Culture and Status of Women on July 8, 2021 and simply to Alberta Culture on October 24, 2022. and to Alberta Culture in 2022.

Responsibilities

the Ministry is responsible for the following pieces of legislation: ''

Alberta Centennial Medal Act Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

''; '' Alberta Foundation for the Arts Act''; ''

Arts Professions Recognition Act The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both h ...

''; '' Emblems of Alberta Act''; ''

Family Day Act Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

''; ''

Film and Video Classification Act A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

''; ''

First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

''; ''

Freedom to Care Act Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

''; ''

Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month Act Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

''; '' Glenbow‑Alberta Institute Act''; ''

Historical Resources Act History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

''; ''

Holocaust Memorial Day and Genocide Remembrance Act The Holocaust Memorial Day and Genocide Remembrance Act is a law passed in the Alberta Legislature with unanimous consent of all parties in November 2000. This law provides recognition for Yom HaShoah Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah ( he, ...

''; '' Polish‑Canadian Heritage Day Act''; ''

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Recognition Act Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

''; '' Reservists’ Recognition Act''; ''

Special Days Act Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Speci ...

; Ukrainian‑Canadian Heritage Day Act''; ''

Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day Act Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

''; '' Women’s Institute Act''.

References

{{Authority control Culture and tourism

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Women's ministries 1992 establishments in Alberta Multiculturalism in Canada Franco-Albertan culture Women in Alberta politics Ministries established in 1992