Alberta Premier Ralph Klein says alcohol has hurt his job performance in the past. Now he says he hopes to never drink again, and if he needs help to quit, he'll find it.

But he says he won't step down as premier while he wrestles with his drinking problem. "I have resolved to make sure drinking does not affect me personally or professionally in the future," he said Tuesday in Edmonton.

Blinking back tears, Klein admitted to a 30-year-drinking problem. For the first time Klein said drinking has hurt his job performance.

Ralph Klein
Ralph Klein

"When you wake up with a hangover it affects your job performance. It happened more often than I'd like. Actually it's quite nice to wake up without a hangover."

Klein's reputation for carousing hasn't become a political issue, until now.

Last week, after drinks with friends, Klein dropped into a homeless shelter, unannounced, at one a.m. He got into a heated argument with a homeless man about why he didn't have a job. Shelter workers say he threw a handful of money on the floor before his driver hustled him out.

Two days later, after the story surfaced Klein stopped drinking.

"Needless to say my wife wasn't very happy with the press reports and neither were my friends and my supporters. I had to do some soul searching," he said.

Klein says he considered resigning, but will stay on while he fights what he calls "the devil."

His cabinet colleagues are behind him, though most say they had no idea that Klein has a drinking problem.