Horace Andrew "Bud" Olson (October 6, 1925 – February 14, 2002) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

businessman, politician, and the 14th

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta The lieutenant governor of Alberta () is the viceregal representative in Alberta of the . The lieutenant governor is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the m ...

from 1996 to 2000. He also served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, and Minister of Economic and Regional Development. He was also a farmer and rancher, and president and operating officer of Farmer's Stockmen's Supplies in Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, Alberta.

Early life

Born in Iddesleigh, Alberta on October 6, 1925. On January 27, 1947, he married Marion Lucille McLachlan. They had four children: Sharon Lee, Andrea Lucille, Juanita Carol and Horace Andrew Jr.

Federal politics

Bud Olson was first elected to the

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 1957 election as a

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

Member of Parliament (MP) from

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...

. He was defeated in the

Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

sweep of 1958, but re-elected in 1962, 1963 and 1965. With the Social Credit Party's English Canadian wing rapidly disintegrating, Olson crossed the floor in 1967 to join 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 ...

. Olson supported

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

's successful candidacy for the Liberal leadership in 1968, narrowly won re-election as an MP in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and became minister of agriculture in the first Trudeau government. Olson served in that position until he was heavily defeated by Progressive Conservative Bert Hargrave in the 1972 general election. He was one of only four Liberal MPs elected from Alberta in 1968 – all of whom were defeated in 1972. To date, Olson is the last Liberal elected from a rural Alberta riding. Olson sought a rematch against Hargrave in 1974, but lost by a margin almost as large as he had in 1972. In 1977, Trudeau appointed him to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. Olson served as

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the Senate in 1979, and returned to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

when the Trudeau Liberals returned to power in 1980. He served as Minister of Economic and Regional Development from 1980 to 1984, as well as Leader of the Government in the Senate. As one of Trudeau's most powerful ministers, he chaired the cabinet committee on economic development from 1980 to 1983. He was also the minister responsible for the Northern Pipeline Agency from 1980 to 1984,and the government leader in the Senate from 1982 to 1984. It was also Olson's job to promote the government's unpopular

National Energy Program The National Energy Program (french: Programme énergétique national, NEP) was an energy policy of the Canadian federal government from 1980 to 1985. Created under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau by Energy Minister Marc ...

in Alberta.

Late life

Olson resigned from the Senate when he was appointed Alberta's 14th Lieutenant-Governor in April 1996. He served in that position until 2000. CAPS LG Security Blazer Patch

Bud Olson died in

in 2002.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Bud Lieutenant Governors of Alberta Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from Alberta Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Social Credit Party of Canada MPs Canadian Lutherans Alberta Liberal Party candidates in Alberta provincial elections 1925 births 2002 deaths Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence 20th-century Lutherans