Former Alberta premier Alison Redford resigns as MLA

Alison Redford is calling it quits.

In an op-ed published in the Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal, the embattled former Alberta premier says that she's resigning as a member of her province's legislative assembly.

"I'm stepping down immediately as MLA for Calgary-Elbow to start the next chapter of my life, teaching and resuming work in international development and public policy," Redford, wrote.

"I recognize that mistakes were made along the way. In hindsight, there were many things I would have done differently. That said, I accept responsibility for all the decisions I have made."

Redford was forced to resign, as premier, in March of this year after coming under fire — from both the public and members of the Progressive Conservative party caucus — for her questionable travel expenses. In particular she was chided for a $45,000 roundtrip to attend Nelson Mandela's funeral last December.

The scrutiny over her expenses, however, didn't end there.

In late March, a story emerged of her ordering a penthouse suite to be built for her and her daughter in a federal government building in downtown Edmonton.

She's also been criticized for her very poor attendance record in the legislature and slammed for taking her daughter on approximately 50 separate government flights between 2008 and 2014.

And finally last week, she was the subject of a leaked auditor general's report which suggested improprieties in her use of government planes including an allegation that, for certain flights, seats on the plane "were blocked to restrict access to Premier Redford on the aircraft."

While Redford claims she did nothing wrong, the new allegations have spurred Alberta PC leadership candidates to call on the party to kick Redford out of caucus and for a police investigation.

"There is no room in government for the blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars," leadership front runner Jim Prentice said in a statement last week.

"If public officials fail to observe this the RCMP should be called to investigate and these abuses must be met with the full force of the law."

[ Related: In light of the ongoing spending scandals, is the Alberta PC brand still salvageable? ]

Redford was elected premier in September 2012 after a path to political office which was far different from that of most politicians.

After completing a law degree at the University of Saskatchewan, she worked on Parliament Hill for former prime ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney.

The Mulroney government's vocal opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa helped Redford land a job, in the 1990's, as an adviser to Nelson Mandela on constitutional and legal reform issues.

She eventually moved back to Calgary, was elected to the provincial legislature in 2008 and subsequently appointed as Alberta's first female justice minister and first female premier.

In her letter, Redford says that she hopes to continue her work in public service.

"Alberta is my home and our family will continue to live here, now and in the years ahead. I believe in Alberta, and that will not change," she wrote.

"Although I will no longer be in elected office, I still believe in my heart that public service matters. The ideals that brought me to public life in the first place have not changed. By continuing in public service in new roles, I will look for new ways to make a contribution."

Her full letter of resignation can be seen here.

(Photo courtesy of The Canadian Press)

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