n. — Politics, Administration
a politician elected to a provincial or territorial government.
Type: 2. Preservation — Member of the Legislative Assembly was used in Britain as early as the beginning of the 19th century to refer to post-revolutionary French politicians, which makes the long form a preservation from British English usage. It is in use in some Australian states and in India, as well as in all Canadian provinces and territories except for Ontario (where the term is Member of Provincial Parliament), Quebec (Member of the National Assembly) and Newfoundland and Labrador (Member of the House of Assembly) (see Canadian Heritage reference). See the entry MLA for the abbreviation, which is most frequent in Canada today compared to other locations. The long term is, as Chart 1 shows, highly frequent in Canada compared with other former British colonies and only outnumbered by Australia.
See also: legislative assembly MLA MPP MNA
- 1839  [John Windsor Le Lacheur, Esq., Member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.] 
- 1841  And be it enacted, That no Person shall be capable of being elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada who shall not be legally or equitably seised as a Freehold, for his own Use and Benefit, of Lands or Tenements [...] 
- 1857  Any Member of the Legislative Assembly or elected Member of the Legislative Council, may voluntarily resign and vacate his seat in the manner hereinafter provided. 
- 1872  On the first seat, in the front row to the left of the Speaker, sits the Hon. John Sandfield MacDonald. He is the oldest member of the Legislative Assembly. 
- 1898  Sir Frederick has cut a ntoable figure in Newfoundland affairs. He became Chief Justice in 1880, after serving as one of the associate justices and successively as member of the Legislative Assembly, Speaker of the House, Attorney-General and Premier. 
- 1916  The first question was: "Has any member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan received any sum of money from an applicant for liquor license for the purpose of securing such a license?" 
- 1922  Mr. Sanders also paid tribute to the late Robert George Brett, former member of the legislative assembly, of the Northwest Territories, and Lieutenant-governor of the province. 
- 1961  Mr. Archambault said the commission payments were arranged by Mr. Martineau, also a member of the legislative assembly. 
- 1986  He resigned as party leader the following day but continued to serve as member of the legislative assembly until yesterday. 
- 2013  Dr. James C. W. Parrott, MD is member of the Legislative Assembly for Fundy-River Valley. 
Images:
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 8 Apr. 2016