Charles Stewart (politician, 1868)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Stewart (1940)

Charles Stewart , PC (born August 26, 1868 in Strabane , Ontario , † December 6, 1946 in Ottawa , Ontario) was a Canadian politician and farmer . He was from October 30, 1917 to August 13, 1921 Prime Minister of the Province of Alberta and Chairman of the Alberta Liberal Party . He then belonged to the government at the federal level, including serving as Canadian interior minister twice .

farmer

Stewart grew up on his parents' farm in the province of Ontario. From 1884 the family lived in Barrie . In 1892 he took over the farm after his father's death. After a storm destroyed the farm, Stewart and his family moved to Killam in what was then the Alberta District of the Northwest Territories in 1905 and built a new business there. From 1906 he also traded in land and agricultural equipment.

Provincial politics

Official portrait

In 1909, Stewart was a candidate for the local section of the Alberta Liberal Party in the Sedgewick constituency and was elected to the Alberta Legislative Assembly. In the government of Arthur Sifton he was Minister for Municipalities in 1912 and 1913, then Minister for Public Works. After Sifton's transition to federal politics, Stewart was appointed Prime Minister on October 30, 1917 by Lieutenant Governor Robert G. Brett . He also took over the Ministry of Railways and Telephony as well as the party leadership.

Stewart's reign was marked by numerous problems. The question of the introduction of conscription divided the entire country and the party during the First World War . In addition, the provincial government was involved in several scandals involving participation in railway companies. The Liberals lost over 14% of the vote in the June 1921 elections, but Stewart was able to defend his seat. The United Farmers of Alberta surprisingly won the elections and formed the new government.

Federal politics

After this defeat, Stewart received an offer from Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to take a seat in the liberal federal government. From December 1921 he was the successor to James Alexander Lougheed Secretary of the Interior and Minister of Mining and Head of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs . Since the Liberal Party of Canada had no seat in Alberta, Stewart stood in 1922 in a by-election in Argenteuil, Quebec province , and was elected a member of the Canada's lower house . From 1925 he represented the constituency of Edmonton West. He held the three ministerial posts until June 1930, with the exception of the summer of 1926, when the Liberals were in opposition for three months. In 1926 and 1930 he was interim immigration minister for six months.

Stewart remained a member of parliament after the Liberals' defeat in the 1930 general election. The Liberals won the general election in October 1935, but Stewart, who ran in the Jasper-Edson constituency, was voted out. He was defeated by Walter Frederick Kuhl of the Social Credit Party .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Stewart, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 26, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Strabane
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1946
Place of death Ottawa