Alberta legislature member for United Conservative Party leaves his seat

EDMONTON - An Alberta legislature member with the United Conservative Party has resigned his seat.

The Officer of the Speaker says it has received a notice of resignation from Don MacIntyre.

The United Conservatives issued a terse statement Friday saying MacIntyre had resigned but did not specify whether he was stepping down as an MLA or just leaving caucus.

MacIntyre was elected to the legislature in the constituency of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake in 2015 under the Wildrose banner before the party merged with the PCs to become the United Conservatives.

Premier Rachel Notley has six months to call a by-election once a seat is vacated.

MacIntyre previously worked as a part-time instructor for the alternative energy program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and worked as chief technical officer for a private overseas geothermal company.

He has suggested in the past that science hasn't conclusively proven that climate change caused by humans.