George Everett Chalmers (June 5, 1905 – April 26, 1993) was a medical doctor, surgeon and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada. He represented the ridings of York County, City of Fredericton and

Fredericton South Fredericton South (french: Fredericton-Sud) is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. It was first contested in the 2014 general election, having been created in the 2013 redistribution of ele ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

from 1963 to 1978 as a Progressive Conservative member. He was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, the son of George Wilson Chalmers and May Branch. Chalmers was educated at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

and

McGill University Faculty of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University. It was established in 1829 after the Montreal Medical Institution was incorporated into McGill College as the college's first faculty; it was t ...

, from which he graduated in 1933. He interned for 2 years at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, QC and 1 year at the Saint John General Hospital in

Saint John, NB Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

before moving to

Fredericton, NB Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces ...

in 1936. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he enlisted as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps but was unable to serve abroad due to

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. In 1939 Dr. Chalmers was a founding member of the Fredericton Medical Clinic, the city's largest health clinic. He served as a city councillor for the

Fredericton City Council The Fredericton City Council is the municipal governing body of the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Ma ...

from 1945 to 1949.

Political career

Dr. Chalmers became involved in politics in 1948 when he supported former Ontario premier George Drew at the

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...

in his successful bid to lead the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

; Drew having defeated his opponent

John 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 ...

on the first ballot. Between 1947 and 1960, Dr. Chalmers was a key backroom supporter of the

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right, conservative political party in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The party has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granti ...

while at the same time serving as Surgeon-in-Chief, President of the Medical Staff, and member of the Board of Directors for the Victoria Public Hospital in Fredericton. Chalmers used his influence with PC Party Leader and

Premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The ...

Hugh John Flemming Hugh John Flemming (January 5, 1899 – October 16, 1982) was a politician and the 24th premier of New Brunswick from 1952 to 1960. He is always known as "Hugh John". Born in Peel, New Brunswick, Canada, the son of James Kidd Flemming, Premi ...

to upgrade medical facilities in Fredericton during the 1950s. Dr. Chalmers ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of

during the 1960 provincial election and was successful in being elected as a member of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the

. He was re-elected as a member of the opposition in the 1963 and 1967 elections, during which time he also served on the hospital building committee, which was seeking to replace the Victoria Public Hospital with a new regional hospital. Upon Dr. Chalmers' re-election in the 1970 provincial election, the Progressive Conservatives under the leadership of

Richard Hatfield Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987, Early life T ...

formed the government. Chalmers was appointed to the Executive Council and served as a "Minister Without Portfolio" from 1970 to 1972 and again from 1976 to 1978. Chalmers used his cabinet position in the early 1970s to advocate for the new regional hospital, as well as for solutions to alcohol and drug addiction problems in the province. The opening of Fredericton's new regional hospital in 1976 saw it named the

Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital The Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital is a Canadian hospital in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital operates as a tertiary care referral hospital with specialization in reconstructive and restorative medicine ...

in honour of his efforts. Chalmers left politics and retired from actively practising medicine in 1978. He was appointed chair of the Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Commission of New Brunswick and served as a consulting emeritus in general surgery at the hospital named after him. Dr. Chalmers died on April 26, 1993, in Fredericton.

Personal life

In 1935 Dr. Chalmers married Eloise Roberts and they had two children. Chalmers' wife died in 1954 and in 1956 he re-married to Mrs. Winnifred Hickey who already had two children from her previous marriage; they subsequently had two additional children. His brother Robert Chalmers (1913 - 2003) was a prominent local obstetrician and gynecologist. Dr. Chalmers' eldest daughter Sharon Pollock is a Canadian playwright. The character "Ev" in Pollock's play ''Doc'' is based on Dr. Everett Chalmers His granddaughter Jennifer Pollock was an active political figure in

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 ...

. She represented Ward 1 and Ward 2 as a Public School Trustee on the

Calgary Board of Education Calgary School District No. 19 or the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is the public school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a public system, the CBE is required to accept any students who meet age and residency requirements, regardless of ...

from 1992 to 1999. She was a candidate for 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'' ...

in the federal riding of

Calgary West Calgary West was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1953, and from 1979 to 2015. It was in the western part of the City of Calgary. The electoral district was or ...

in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections.

References

* ''Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1964'', PG Normandin {{DEFAULTSORT:Chalmers, George Everett 1905 births 1993 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick MLAs People from Bathurst, New Brunswick Fredericton city councillors McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni University of New Brunswick alumni

Political career

Personal life

See also

References