Ralph Klein

Ralph Phillip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) served as the 12th Premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 2006. Klein's tenure as premier ended when the Alberta Progressive Conservatives' new leader, Ed Stelmach, assumed office December 14, 2006, exactly fourteen years after Klein first became Premier. His nickname was "King Ralph", a reference to his political longevity and his management style.

There’s an old saying in politics: anyone dumb enough to run for the job probably is too stupid to have it.

Quotes

• Edmonton isn’t really the end of the world – although you can see it from there.
  • As quoted in "The best quotes from Ralph Klein’s colourful public life", The Globe and Mail
• [Edmonton is a] fine city with too many socialists and mosquitoes. At least you can spray the mosquitoes.
  • As quoted in "Welcome to Ralph's World: 10 of Ralph Klein's most colourful quotes", CTV News
• I’ve been to Vulcan where I’ve been vulcanized, Carbon where you get carbonated and Standard where you get standardized. Ernie Isley’s invited me to Castor … and I’m not looking forward to it.
  • As quoted in "The best quotes from Ralph Klein’s colourful public life", The Globe and Mail
• The government should be getting out of the business of being in business.
  • As quoted in "The best quotes from Ralph Klein’s colourful public life", The Globe and Mail
• This all came about through the discovery of a single, isolated case of mad cow disease in one Alberta cow on May 20. The farmer — I think he was a Louisiana fish farmer who knew nothing about cattle ranching. I guess any self-respecting rancher would have shot, shovelled and shut up, but he didn’t do that. Instead he took it to an abattoir and it was discovered after testing in both Winnipeg and the U.K. that this older cow had mad cow disease.
  • As quoted in "Ralph Klein’s most memorable quotes", Global News
  • As quoted in "Welcome to Ralph's World: 10 of Ralph Klein's most colourful quotes", CTV News
• I wasn't surprised that she crossed over to the Liberals. I don't think she ever did have a Conservative bone in her body. Well, maybe one.
  • As quoted in "Welcome to Ralph's World: 10 of Ralph Klein's most colourful quotes", CTV News
• I’m no doctor, but I think that Mr. McGuinty’s got a case of premature speculation.
  • As quoted in "Ralph Klein’s most memorable quotes", Global News
• You know, my science is limited to the fact that I know that eons ago there was an ice age … I know that for sure. I know that at one time, the Arctic was the tropics. And I guess I wonder what caused that? Was it dinosaur farts? I don’t know.
  • As quoted in "Creeps, bums and a foot in the mouth: Some of former premier Ralph Klein’s more colourful moments", MacLean's
• There’s an old saying in politics: anyone dumb enough to run for the job probably is too stupid to have it.
  • As quoted in "Ralph Klein’s most memorable quotes", Global News
• I have some hopes for the future. One of the things I hope the new leader will address is an integrated energy policy, because we need to take advantage of the tremendous brainpower that we have amassed over the years relative to conventional and oil-sands oil and gas, and funnel those energies into alternate forms of energy for the future. By that I mean coal, coal gasification, coalbed methane, solar power, wind power, nuclear power, hydro power, all forms of energy other than conventional and oil-sands gas and oil.
  • As quoted in Geo Takach (2010). Will The Real Alberta Please Stand Up. University of Alberta Press. p. 312. 

Quotes about Klein

• We can't win this province back - we can't be the government - with a smoking, drinking, paving, glad-handing premier.
  • Doug Main, reported by Cunningham, Jim (November 15, 1992). "The Candidates / A PROFILE: Ralph Klein". Calgary Herald: p. A8. 

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Ralph Klein on Wikipedia