The outgoing MLA for Livingstone-Macleod wants to make it perfectly clear — sure he’s retiring, but he’s not getting a pension for his two terms working under the dome.
“They cut the pensions back five years ago,” Pat Stier said with a laugh. “When we got in, we made sure they got rid of that – the pensions and big golden handshakes got wiped out in 2012.
“Too many politicians get accused of running for two terms to get the golden handshake and that isn’t the case.”
Stier has served as Wildrose/UCP MLA since 2012 and announced in 2018 that he would not seek re-election in the upcoming provincial election.
“When I first got elected in 2012, I had always maintained that two terms is as much as I would want to go,” Stier said. “I had a bit of a health scare in 2010 and I decided I wanted to have a few years before I turn that ripe old age of 70, this is just perfect for me.”
Stier, who grew up on a DeWinton area farm, was first elected when he defeated PC MLA Evan Berger from the Nanton area, the sitting agriculture minister under Premier Alison Redford in 2012.
The win surprised even Stier.
“I realized with my municipal experience and my local popularity with working with the municipality (MD of Foothills) for many years that I had a reasonable chance,” Stier said. “But I was quite surprised and very gratified to be elected in 2012.”
He was one of 17 Wildrose MLAs elected in 2012, which formed the official opposition under party leader Danielle Smith.
Driving issues for Stier in 2012 was the oil royalties review framework under former premier Ed Stelmach and concerns of changes in the land-use framework going back to regional planning.
“Those were my two issues I was concerned in,” Stier said. “The thing that came out for me from 2012-2015 was when Alison Redford resigned. I had never thought I would see a premier resign with my own eyes.
“And that was followed up just a few months later by a bunch of my [Wildrose] colleagues crossing the floor.”
In late 2014 several Wildrose members, including Smith, crossed the floor to join the Jim Prentice led PC Party. Stier was one of five Wildrose members who refused to cross.
“I made that choice of my own principles, that people needed a representative that they had selected to stay true to his words,” Stier said. “They had volunteered to help me and I only owed them to stay where I belong.”
Also early in his first term he had to deal with flooding in the constituency, including in the northwest MD of the Foothills, Black Diamond/Turner Valley and in the Willow Creek area.
Stier was rewarded in 2015 when he was re-elected, once again downing Berger.
“I felt I had just got started and there were a lot of people who believed in the Wildrose and I thought we were making ground,” said Stier, adding while disappointed the party didn’t form government, it did jump to 22 seats.
The NDP under Rachel Notley formed the government in 2015.
In 2017, Stier was selected to work on a unity team to bring the Wildrose and PC parties together before the 2019 election.
“I was proud to be part of that,” Stier said. “The two parties voted to go with the agreement in July of 2017 and here we are today with a new leader and an awful lot of momentum for this election.”
That leader, Jason Kenney, and the UCP are presently ahead in the polls and have a strong chance to form government after April 16.
Stier admits he would have liked to be part of the party in power.
“I would love to be there because it is so different than being in opposition — a chance to bring in new policy change, introduce new legislation that will make a difference to Albertans,” Stier said. “It is a disappointment, but I do realize it is not a full lifetime job. It is a pleasure to serve and after two terms, I think it is time for a new face to have that seat and do their part.”
