Felito Cruz (The More Things Changed)

Rafael  "Felito" Edward Cruz (born December 22, 1970) is a Canadian politician and attorney, who has served as the Premier of Alberta and MLA for Edmonton-Southwest since May 24, 2015. He previously served as Chief Crown Prosecutor of Edmonton. He is the founder and leader of One Canada, a self-described "confident and courageous conservative" political party.

Cruz served as Chief Crown Prosecutor of Edmonton from 2003 to 2015, where he was the first Hispanic, and the longest-serving, Chief Crown Prosecutor in Alberta history. From 2004 to 2011, Cruz was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, where he taught litigation.

Following the decision by leader Danielle Smith and eight other MLAs to leave the Wildrose Party and cross the floor to join the ruling Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (PCs) the party announced the next day that it would appoint an interim leader and hold an election to choose a permanent leader in 2015. Cruz was elected leader over three other candidates on March 28, 2015. He led his party to victory in the general election and formed Alberta's first minority government.

From March 28, 2015 to September 6, 2016, Cruz was the leader of the Wildrose Party. He resigned his party membership in order to run in the Conservative Party leadership election while maintaining his premiership, triggering the 2016 Albertan parliamentary dispute and leading to a reshuffling of his cabinet. He became the first Premier in Alberta history to lead a coalition government primarily comprised of a different party.

A vote of no confidence was called for in the Alberta Legislative Assembly, which saw Cruz maintain his government by a 45-42 vote.

Following his defeat in the 2017 Conservative Party leadership election, Cruz announced merger of the Wildrose party and the Progressive Conservatives into a national party - One Canada.

On September 14th, Cruz swore in his Fourth Cabinet, with a One Canada majority.

Early Life and Family
Rafael Edward Cruz was born on December 22, at Foothills General Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to parents Eleanor Elizabeth (née Darragh) Wilson and Rafael Bienvenido Cruz y Díaz. Cruz's mother was born in Wilmington, Delaware, through which Cruz received American dual citizenship. At the time of his birth, Cruz's parents had lived in Calgary for three years, working in the oil business as owners of a seismic-data processing firm for oil drilling.

In 1974, his father left the family and moved to Texas, where he joined a born again Christian church in Carrollton, Texas. Later that year, at the urging of his pastor, Rafael reconciled with Elanor, and relocated to Edmonton, Alberta, where the couple continues to reside today. Rafael Cruz earned Canadian citizenship in 1973, and became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 2005.

Cruz has two older half-sisters, Miriam Ceferina Cruz and Roxana Lourdes Cruz, from his father's first marriage. Miriam died in 2011.

Cruz married Marilyn Burns in 2001. The couple has two daughters, Caroline and Catherine. Cruz met his wife during the founding of the Canadian Alliance party in 2000.

Legal Career
Cruz served as Chief Crown Prosecutor for Edmonton from 2003 to 2015, making him the first Hispanic, and the longest-serving, Chief Crown Prosecutor in Alberta history.

As Chief Crown Prosecutor, Cruz sought "leadership role in the Canadian Confederation in articulating a vision of values."

Wildrose Leadership Election
The 2015 Wildrose Party leadership election was triggered December 17, 2014, following the decision by leader Danielle Smith and eight other MLAs to leave the Wildrose Party and cross the floor to join the ruling Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (PCs). The party announced the next day that it would appoint an interim leader and hold an election to choose a permanent leader in 2015.

Under the party's constitution, within 15 days of Smith's resignation, it had to set a date for party members to choose a new permanent leader. Smith tendered her resignation on the morning of December 17, 2014. In a letter to the party's executive, Smith recommended that party members vote on a “reunification resolution” to merge with the PCs as soon as possible, a course of action that the executive rejected.

The party's constitution also stipulates that the leadership election had to be held between three and nine months after the position becomes open, in this case between March and September 2015. Each candidate had to pay a non-refundable $20,000 deposit and receive endorsement signatures from 250 party members, which Cruz easily secured.

The party executive announced on January 23, 2015 that the election was to be held on June 6, 2015 and that party members would be able to vote in person at venues around the province or by mail-in ballot. However, due to the likelihood of an early provincial election, the date of the leadership vote was moved up with the vote to be conducted by a telephone ballot in a 12-day period from March 16 to March 28, 2015 with results announced at the Sheraton Cavalier in Calgary.

29th Alberta General Election
The 29th general election of Alberta, Canada, elected members of the 29th Alberta Legislature took place May 5, 2015, following a request of Premier Jim Prentice to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Donald Ethell to dissolve the Legislative Assembly on April 7, 2015.

The Provincial Election Act fixes the election to a three-month period, between March 1 and May 31 in the fourth calendar year after the preceding election day - in this case, April 23th, 2012. However, the Act does not affect the powers of the Crown; namely, the Lieutenant Governor's power to dissolve the Legislature before this period. The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (PCs) had a majority in the outgoing Assembly.

As a result of the election, the Wildrose Party was elected to a minority government under Cruz. It marked the first time the party formed a government, and marked the first minority government in Alberta history. On May 8th, Cruz and the Wildrose party entered into a formal agreement with the Alberta Party and the Progressive-Conservative Party, where the two opposition parties agreed to support the Cruz government on all confidence motions and budgetary legislation for at least three years.

Swearing-In
Cruz was sworn-in as the 17th Premier of Alberta along with his cabinet on May 24, 2015. When he took office he ended Alberta's streak of majority governments. His seventeen-member cabinet is the smallest in the country, containing only 20% of the legislature's members. The slimmed down cabinet was met with a mixed response from pundits; some said it showed the Wildrose Party's lack of experienced people while others felt that it brought a much needed sense of economy and individual importance to the various positions.

The swearing-in ceremony was an unusually public event, held on the steps of the Alberta Legislature Building in front of a large crowd of spectators while a band played the national anthem, while free popsicles and food were distributed from food trucks. The ceremony cost $21,322; more expensive than the swearing-in ceremonies of the previous two premiers, but still less than the expenditure for the swearing-in of Alison Redford in 2011. The Wildrose Party was criticized for using the event as a part of its party fundraising, for which they later apologized.

Speech from the Throne
The government's first throne speech was read by newly-appointed Lieutenant-Governor Lois Mitchell on June 15, 2015. The speech announced two bills intended to ban corporate and union donations to political parties, ending the flat tax rate that had been in place since the premiership of Ralph Klein. Both of these proposals were promised as part of the Wildrose Party's election platform. That same day Cruz also announced the creation of a twelve-member committee, including Alberta Party leader Greg Clark, tasked to look into ways to improve government accountability in areas such as whistleblower protection, electioneering, and conflicts of interest.

2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire
In May 2016 a wildfire devastated the township of Fort McMurray, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history. In October 2016 Cruz surveyed the construction site of the first rebuilt home since the permission to return was granted.

Australia, Israel, Mexico, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, the Republic of China, and the United States offered international assistance in battling the fire, though the offers were turned down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau said that while the offers were appreciated, they were unnecessary as firefighters from other Canadian provinces were gaining control of the situation.

Cruz spent time in the national and international spotlight when he lambasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government and his handling of the federal response to the wildfire, calling it "shameful, cowardly, and cruel."

Opioid Epidemic
As Premier, Cruz has tasked his government with combating the opioid epidemic in the province. Cruz, whose sister Miriam died of a drug overdose in 2011, called the epidemic “a tragedy we’re seeing across the country.”

Cruz has launched the "Families and Communities Together" initiative to raise awareness of the epidemic and implore a stronger community response as opposed to a government response, saying:

"“The solution to this is going to come at the provincial and local level. It’s going to come from the church, it’s going to come from charities, it’s going to come from friends and families and loved ones stepping forward.”"

Cruz has additionally proposed and signed legislation to expand drug testing of unemployment benefit applicants.

2016 Albertan Parliamentary Dispute
On September 6, 2016, Cruz announced that he would be switching his party affiliation to the Conservative Party, in order to run in the federal leadership election in 2017.

Opposition leader Rachel Notley, of the NDP, introduced a motion of no confidence on September 8th. Two Progressive Conservative MLAs joined the Liberals and New Democrats in supporting the motion, violating a previous agreement between their party and the Cruz government.

Cruz requested from Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell a week-long prorogation of the Legislative Assembly, which she granted.

The Legislative Assembly reconvened on September 19, and the motion of no confidence was put to a vote. The Cruz government was sustained by a razor-thin 45-42 vote. As a result, Cruz reshuffled his cabinet, leading a coalition government of the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservatives. In doing so, he became the first Premier in Canadian history to run a government primarily comprised of a party other than his own.

2017 Conservative Party Leadership Election
Cruz's platform established him as a social conservative, opposing both same-sex marriage and abortion. Cruz further proposed testing applicants for citizenship on their "their understanding and appreciation of Canada's core values." However, he proposed a path to "legal status" for undocumented immigrants. He also proposed pulling Canada out of the United Nations firearms marking standardization, and making his "Families and Communities Together" a national initiative.

Cruz ultimately came in second place, losing to fellow Albertan Nimrata "Nikki" Pedersen.

One Canada and Cabinet Reshuffling
Following his defeat in the Conservative leadership election, Cruz consulted with the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party and his former Wildrose Party. On June 5th, Cruz announced the merger of the parties into a new, nationwide political party - Once Canada. He announced an "Canadian conversation tour" across the country, to thank voters for support of his Conservative leadership bid and to shore up support for the nascent party.

Pierre Lemieux, representing Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, Ontario, has been named Deputy Leader. He had previously ran in the Conservative leadership election before endorsing Cruz and joining the One Canada leadership.

Following the announcement, Ric McIver, Deputy Premier and Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, resigned his post, saying his loyalty was to the Progressive Conservatives. Dave Schneider of Little Bow, who held the post before McIver under Cruz's First Cabinet, returned as the Premier announced the creation of his Third Cabinet. Ministers were formally appointed on June 7th. Minister of Energy Donna Kennedy-Glans, also a Progressive Conservative, likewise resigned, citing a "polarizing" political climate in the province. She was replaced by Glenn van Dijken, of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock.

Greg Clark, Leader of the centrist Alberta Party and Minister of Environment and Parks, resigned and was replaced by Leela Aheer, of Chestermere-Rocky View. About the Wildrose/PC merger, Clark stated "What we are seeing today isn’t a merger but a hostile takeover."

With the merger, Cruz has become the only Premier in Canadian history to serve as a member of three political parties within a single term.

30th Alberta General Election
Despite holding a plurality in the Assembly, the Cruz government did not have enough to sustain a majority or prevent a vote of no confidence. On July 10th, 2017, Cruz asked Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell for a prorogation of the Assembly, which was granted.

The 30th Alberta General election was held Thursday, September 14th, 2017. One Canada received a majority of the vote and a majority of the seats. The Fourth Cruz Cabinet took office on Monday, September 18th.

2017 Election Amendment Act
The 2017 Election Amendment Act repealed the 2011 Election Amendment Act, and instituted fixed-date elections for the Legislative Assembly. Under the new act, provincial elections are set for five years following the previous election.

Government Accountability Act
The Government Accountability Act dramatically reduced the scope of the Cabinet and provincial government programs. The Assembly passed the GAA on Monday, October 16th.

During the 30th Albertan general election, Premier Cruz said:

"“We should shrink the size and power of the federal government by every and any means possible. What does that mean? That means eliminating unnecessary or unconstitutional agencies.”"

He specifically targeted five agencies: the Education Ministry, the Energy Ministry, Alberta Municipal Affairs, Environment and Parks Ministry, and ATB Financial.