- Alvin Hamilton
Alvin Hamilton, PC (
March 30 ,1912 –June 29 ,2004 ) was a Canadian politician. Hamilton led theProgressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan from 1949 until he was elected to theCanadian House of Commons in the 1957 general election. This election brought the federalProgressive Conservative Party of Canada to power underJohn George Diefenbaker .Born Francis Alvin George Hamilton in
Kenora, Ontario , he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938 from theUniversity of Saskatchewan . DuringWorld War II , he served with theRoyal Canadian Air Force as a navigator and flight lieutenant. He was awarded theBurma Star Decoration. After the war, he ran three times unsuccessfully as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1945, 1949, and 1953 elections. He was elected in 1957 in the riding of Qu'Appelle and re-elected 4 more times in 1958, 1962, 1963, and 1965. He ran in the riding ofRegina East in the 1968 federal election, and lost by 192 votes to the New Democrat candidate. He was elected again in the 1972 federal election in the riding ofQu'Appelle—Moose Mountain and was re-elected 4 more times in 1974, 1979, 1980, and 1984. He retired in 1988.Hamilton served as Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources in the Diefenbaker cabinet from 1957 to 1960, supporting a new vision of northern development. From 1960 to the 1963 election, when the Diefenbaker government was defeated, Hamilton served as Minister of Agriculture, pioneering wheat sales to the
People's Republic of China .He was a candidate at the 1967 PC leadership convention, making it to the fourth ballot before dropping out.
In 1992, he was bestowed with the title "
The Right Honourable " by Queen Elizabeth II in honour of his service to Canada. This is a rare honour for someone who did not serve asPrime Minister of Canada ,Chief Justice of Canada orGovernor General of Canada .After, retirement he lived a relatively secluded life in the
Ottawa -area town ofManotick where he lived until his death in 2004.On June 28, 2007, the newly refurbished Government of Canada Building in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan was officially named the Francis Alvin George Hamilton Building.
Further reading
*cite book |title= Alvin: a biography of the Honourable Alvin Hamilton, P.C.|last= Kyba|first= Patrick|year= 1989|publisher= Canadian Plains Research Center|location= Regina|isbn= 9780889770560|oclc= 21041688
External links
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?Language=E&query=1043&s=M Federal Political Experience from the Library of Parliament]
* [http://www.agr.gc.ca/bios/index_e.php?page=hamilton Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada biography]s-ttl|title=
Member of Parliament Qu'Appelle
years=1957–1968s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament Qu'Appelle—Moose Mountain
years=1972–1988s-ttl|title=Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources
years=1957–1960
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