Garth-Alphonse Turcott (July 30, 1930 – January 11, 2018) was a lawyer and a former provincial politician from
Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1966 to 1967 sitting as the first member of the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
to be elected in Alberta and the only member of its caucus at that time.
Early life
Turcott went to the
University of Saskatchewan and graduated in 1956.
Political career
Turcott ran for a seat to the Alberta legislature in a by-election held on October 6, 1966, in the electoral district of Pincher Creek-Crowsnest. The by-election was hotly contested by all four candidates. Turcott ended up winning by just over 100 voters over
Social Credit candidate J.H. Hanrahan.
This was the first election won by a candidate running under the Alberta NDP banner,
although members of the NDP's predecessor, the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
sat in the legislature continuously from 1942 to 1959.
During the by-election and continuing after he took his seat Turcott along with NDP Leader
Neil Reimer leveled accusations of corruption against the Social Credit government, specifically that
Edgar Hinman
Edgar Wynder "Ted" Hinman (August 29, 1906 – May 12, 1994) was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1967 and again from 1971 to 1975, sitting with the Social ...
and
Alfred Hooke used their offices for personal gain.
The
1967 Alberta general election
The 1967 Alberta general election was held on May 23, 1967, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to the 16th Alberta Legislature. The election was called after the 15th Alberta Legislature was prorogued on April 11, 1967, and ...
would be called less than a year after Turcott was elected. He would run for a second term but was defeated finishing second to Social Credit candidate
Charles Drain.
Late life
Turcott runs a legal practice in
Pincher Creek,
Alberta. He was also on the board of directors for the Pincher Creek Co-op Association.
He died on January 11, 2018, at the age of 87.
Turcott, Garth Alphonse
/ref>
References
External links
Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turcott, Garth
Alberta New Democratic Party MLAs
University of Saskatchewan alumni
Lawyers in Alberta
1930 births
2018 deaths