Bud Olson

Horace Andrew "Bud" Olson , PC , AOE (born October 6, 1925 in Iddesleigh , Alberta , † February 14, 2002 in Medicine Hat , Alberta) was a Canadian politician. In 1957/58 and from 1962 to 1972 he was a member of the lower house and from 1968 to 1972 he was Minister of Agriculture in the government of Pierre Trudeau . From 1977 to 1996 he was a Senator , then until 2000 Vice Governor of the Province of Alberta.

biography

Olson completed his school career in his hometown of Iddlesburg and later in Medicine Hat. Afterwards he worked as a farmer, merchant and cattle breeder. In 1947 he married Marion Lucille McLachlan. He had four children with her and later had ten grandchildren.

His political career began in 1972 when he ran for the Social Credit Party in the Medicine Hat constituency and was elected a member of the House of Commons. In 1958 he lost his mandate again, but in 1962 he managed to move into the lower house again. As the English-speaking wing of the Social Credit Party lost its importance, Olson switched to the Liberal Party in 1967 . A year later Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed him to the government as Minister of Agriculture; he held this office until 1972, when he lost the election for the second time.

Trudeau appointed Olson to the Canadian Senate on April 5, 1977. There he was State Secretary for Economic Development and Chairman of the relevant commission between 1980 and 1982. Until 1984 he was also responsible for the Northern Pipeline Agency . From September 1982 to June 1984, Olson was chairman of the government parliamentary group in the Senate. From 1991 to 1993 he chaired the Senate Finance Committee.

A little over a month after his resignation as Senator, Olson was named Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Alberta on April 17, 1996. He held this office until February 10, 2000, after which he retired to Medicine Hat. He died there on February 14, 2002 and was buried in Hill Cemetery in Iddlesburgh.

Honors

In 1967 Olson received the Centennial Medal . The College has of Meidice he was awarded the following year for its civilian efforts in politics. In 1970, Olson was made an honorary colonel by the Canadian Army. He received the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. After he took office as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta in 1996, he automatically received the Alberta Order of Excellence , which every lieutenant governor has received when he takes office since 1971.

Web links

• Brief biography on the Alberta Legislative Assembly website
• Bud Olson - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)