Elizabeth Jane "Bettie" Hewes (March 12, 1924 – November 6, 2001) was a politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. Hewes graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

in 1944 with a degree in occupational therapy. From 1964 to 1967, she was the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, and from 1967 to 1974, she was Director of the Edmonton Social Planning Council. She also served as chairman of the board of Canadian National Railway from 1984 to 1985; she was the first woman to hold that position. She served on

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

city council from 1974 to 1984. During that period, she was a leading member of an enlightened urban reform group called Urban Reform Group Edmonton (URGE), which eventually elected several members to Council. She served as acting mayor after the death of

William Hawrelak William Hawrelak (October 4, 1915 – November 7, 1975) was a politician in Alberta, Canada, the longest-serving mayor in Edmonton's history, and a candidate for election to the House of Commons of Canada. Early life Hawrelak was born in Wasel, ...

in 1975. She was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

in the 1986 provincial election as the member for Edmonton-Gold Bar under the banner of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. She was re-elected in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. In 1993, she received over 10,000 votes, the largest number won by any candidate in that election. In 1994, she served as the interim leader of the

. She did not run in the 1997 election. She died of a heart attack in 2001.Bettie Hewes Macdonald, AlexView Profile. The Globe and Mail oronto, Ont10 Dec 2001: A.22.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewes, Bettie 1924 births 2001 deaths Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Female Canadian political party leaders Edmonton city councillors Leaders of the Alberta Liberal Party Women MLAs in Alberta Women municipal councillors in Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians