David Eggen

David Manson Eggen (born 1962) is a Canadian politician. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, in 2019 he was elected as the member representing Edmonton-North West. He previously served three terms as the member representing Edmonton Calder from 2004-2008 and then again from 2012-2019. In 2014, Eggen ran in the NDP leadership election, where he placed second. He served as the Minister of Education and Minister of Culture and Tourism in Premier Notley's NDP government from 2015-2019. He is the longest current member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Personal life

Born in 1962, Eggen was educated at the University of Alberta where he received a Bachelor of Education degree in 1984. Eggen regained his seat in the 2012 provincial election and retained it with a greatly increased margin in the 2015 election.

After the 2015 election Eggen was sworn in as the Minister of Education and as the Minister of Culture and Tourism. He maintained his position as Minister of Education until the 2019 election but was replaced by Ricardo Miranda as Minister of Culture and Tourism. As of June 21, 2024, he serves as the Whip of the Official Opposition caucus.

Electoral history 2001 general election

2004 general election

2008 general election

2012 general election

2015 general election

2019 general election

2023 general election

Cabinet David Eggen was sworn into Cabinet on May 24, 2015 as part of the NDP government led by Rachel Notley. There had been speculation since the election that Eggen would receive a large portfolio in Cabinet. He was appointed as Minister of Education and Minister of Culture and Tourism.

In fall 2015, Eggen introduced Bill 8, a proposal to reform the collective bargaining structure for public school teachers in Alberta. Bill 8 proposes to introduce a two-table bargaining system, similar to the structure in Ontario, where the provincial government would handle big items like salary and local boards would negotiate local issues. The existing system sees all issues bargained locally.

There was criticism that school boards were not adequately consulted, but documents provided by Eggen's office to the media detailed consultations that had taken place in September and October 2015.