Alexander Bell Patterson (April 22, 1911 – April 2, 1993) was a long-time Canadian member of Parliament (MP) and was briefly leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada. He was the son of an Irish father and Scottish mother who immigrated to Canada in 1901. He grew up on the family's farm until moving to Portage la Prairie to work in a grocery store. Later he attended the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Leadership Training School in Toronto. In 1938, he married Charlotte Nice, a Salvation Army officer from Neepawa, Manitoba. They raised four children. From 1935 until 1953, he led churches in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. In 1953, while minister of the Church of the Nazarene in

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...

, he was elected to

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the 1953 election from the riding of Fraser Valley, British Columbia. He was defeated in the 1958 election. He ran for the party leadership at the 1961 Social Credit leadership convention but withdrew before the first ballot. Patterson returned to Parliament in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. He became acting leader of the Social Credit Party in 1967 when leader

Robert N. Thompson Robert Norman Thompson (May 17, 1914 – November 16, 1997) was a Canadian politician, chiropractor, and educator. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota, to Canadian parents and moved to Canada in 1918 with his family. Raised in Alberta, he gradua ...

resigned citing the party's lack of financial support from its BC and Alberta wings. Once the writs were dropped for the 1968 election, Thompson sought and won the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada nomination in his riding.

Bud Olson Horace Andrew "Bud" Olson (October 6, 1925 – February 14, 2002) was a Canadian businessman, politician, and the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 1996 to 2000. He also served as a Member of Parliament, Senator, Minister of Agricul ...

had left the party a few months before joining the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, leaving Patterson as the acting leader of the remaining three-person Social Credit

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

into the 1968 election in which all three MPs were defeated, including Patterson in Fraser Valley East. Patterson returned to Parliament in the 1972 election representing Fraser Valley East as a Progressive Conservative, and was subsequently re-elected as a Tory until his retirement from politics in 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Alexander Bell 1911 births 1993 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Social Credit Party of Canada MPs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Social Credit Party of Canada leaders Church of the Nazarene ministers