Redford became premier upon winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, and on April 23, 2012, she led her party to victory in the 2012 provincial election.

Her work in Africa focused on human rights litigation, developing education programs and policy reform with respect to gender issues.

Before her most current post, Redford managed a judicial training and legal reform project for the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People's Court in Vietnam.

[6][12] On March 13, 2008, after being elected MLA for the constituency of Calgary-Elbow, Redford was named Minister of Justice and Attorney General by Premier Ed Stelmach.

Redford's promise to reverse the government's $107-million education cut gained the support of teachers and appealed to many Albertans who had lost confidence in the party establishment.

With this win, Redford became the fourth woman in Canadian history to lead a political party to victory in an election, after Catherine Callbeck in Prince Edward Island, Pat Duncan in Yukon, and Kathy Dunderdale in Newfoundland and Labrador.

As part of the PC campaign platform, Redford expressed her intentions to work with nonprofits, calling for the creation of a new Department of Human Services as a "single point of entry" for non-profits.

[29] A year after she resigned her role as Premier, Redford reflected on her tenure in a Globe and Mail interview: After a long stretch of soul-searching, she was reluctant to identify specific mistakes she made, but did point to a range of other factors contributing to her difficulties, from her gender to back-stabbing in her own caucus.

[30]Some labour unions criticized the first budget, claiming that the Conservative government failed to honour a 2012 provincial election promises to continue increases to post-secondary education at a rate of 2%.

[31] On October 9, 2013, following 900 academic staff and faculty job losses across the province, Thomas Lukazuk, the Minister responsible for Advanced Education, announced $142.5 million had come available to construct a new Engineering building at University of Calgary.

"[38] In the words of one observer, "the Redford government felt it was necessary to come down hard on them in order to snuff out any hope of wage increases that might add to the provincial budget deficit.

"[39] Following Redford's resignation, the AUPE and the Hancock government reached a tentative agreement calling for an immediate $1800 lump sum for salaried employees (prorated for wage earners) and a pay increase of 6.75% to be spread over four years.

[43] Clark had initially demanded a share of royalties in exchange for granting access to build the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, prompting a "frosty" response from Redford in October 2012.

[45] One analyst remarked that the "public scuffle with British Columbia’s Premier, Christy Clark, over the Northern Gateway pipeline, was a first indication of unproductive handling" of energy issues by Redford's government.

[46] On July 15, 2013, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLA Mike Allen was charged with soliciting prostitution during a government trip to St. Paul, Minnesota.

[51] The following day, it was announced that Prentice would visit Michener Centre, a long term care center controversially marked for closure by the Redford government.

"[55] In 2013, at the invitation of the Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Redford and numerous provincial premiers attended the funeral of Nelson Mandela, with whom she worked with and for in the fight against Apartheid.

"[60] The fallout over the Mandela funeral trip led to further scrutiny, with subsequent revelations of Redford's expenses to promote the province and questionable spending, while her government was making public service cuts.

[62][63][64][65] Further public allegations were that Redford's executive assistant charged $9,000 in lodging while working in Edmonton, averaging $200 a night for what the press referred to as "luxury hotel" stays.

At the same time, others complained that the province had an accumulated debt of $8.7-billion (the Canadian Taxpayers Federation projected that it would reach $17-billion by 2016),[67] aided by changes to the accounting rules made in the 2013 budget.

[14] Backbencher Len Webber quit the Progressive Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent, saying that Redford was a "not a nice woman" and a bully".

Steve Robson, president of the PC association in the northeast Edmonton, described Redford as an "arrogant" leader who does not listen to her caucus and called on her to resign.

[4][68][69] Redford announced her resignation as the MLA for Calgary-Elbow on August 6, one day before an Auditor General's report into her travel expenses was scheduled for release.

[74] Further scrutiny by media and opposition parties has led to a re-examination of fifty government flights in which Redford's daughter and her nanny) were accommodated, as well as two trips to the mountain resort of Jasper, Alberta.

[75] There was no official reply to repeated requests for information from both Redford and interim Premier Dave Hancock and, subsequently, no evidence to substantiate a claim that the Jasper trips were for government business.

Among her duties was advance travel to locations the Premier was expected to visit, and emails released in the wake of the Auditor General's report reveal that among her activities she was "forwarding photos of hotels and suites, sussing out suitable patios and restaurants and at least once advising on public toilets."

According to the terms of the contracts they were engaged under, her chief of staff, communications director and other "senior staffers" became entitled to receive a total of over 1 million dollars in severance benefits.

[83] After concerns regarding the permier's office travel and expense claims came to light, Premier Redford herself requested a full audit by the Auditor General.

[89] In response to a media scrum, she noted that she spent the time off with family in Palm Springs but also worked in her constituency, as her intention was to complete her term as the MLA for Calgary-Elbow.

"[96] In November 2017, Redford took a position as a policy advisor in Kabul to the government of Afghanistan to help reform its Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and help the country develop its natural resources.