George Peter Smith (August 12, 1873 – November 29, 1942) was a politician and former

Minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...

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. He was born in Lieury, Ontario and came west in 1901 while working for an insurance company.

Move West

After visiting Duhamel (a mission settlement southwest of Camrose, Alberta), Smith bought the local Trading Store in 1902. A well-respected Cree man named Pe-o-kis introduced Smith to other influential settlers like Francois Adam and Camille Miquelon. Smith formed good relationships with the Métis of the Laboucane Settlement and the Saulteaux peoples and developed a lucrative fur-trading business. He brought the largest known number of furs to be traded in Edmonton, amounting to 123,000 pelts. When a new CPR line was being built from Wetaskiwin to the village of Sparling (later Camrose), Smith anticipated the growth of the village and opened a store in Sparling. He is credited with suggesting the town's new name, when it changed to Camrose in 1905. In late 1908, Smith launched the ''Camrose Canadian'' newspaper, which exists to this day. As a founding father and booster of Camrose, Smith did much to promote the town and the surrounding region. He was responsible for the opening of Alberta's second Normal School in Camrose in 1915.

Political career

Smith first ran for election to the Alberta Legislature in the

1909 Alberta general election The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members of the Alberta legislature to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premi ...

winning the new Camrose district with a comfortable plurality. He was a big promoter of immigration while in office."Early Provincial Political Figure, Member for Camrose, Hon. George P. Smith Passes", ''Camrose Canadian'', December 2, 1942. Smith was re-elected in a landslide to a second term in office during the

1913 Alberta general election The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the 3rd Alberta Legislature. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July ...

significantly increasing his plurality from last time. He would be re-elected to his third and final term in the Alberta Legislature in the

1917 Alberta general election The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of World War I, eleven Mem ...

. This time with a slightly reduced majority of votes. On August 26, 1918, he would be appointed to the Minister of Education portfolio. Smith held the post until he was defeated in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments. The Liberal Party, which had governed the province since it ...

by Vernor W. Smith from the

United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...

, the two Smiths were not related.

Prosecution

The United Farmers government in prosecuted Smith in 1926. The issue arose from a question Robert Marshall had asked in the legislature in regards to $5,820.00 that had been plundered from the Alberta Treasury in September 1921 by Smith. The government claimed it had no political motive in prosecuting Smith. The United Farmers government had Smith charged with fraud as they believed that the money which was taken from the treasury to pay Esdale Press Ltd. for services rendered.

Federal candidacy

Smith would attempt to run for a seat in 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

1935 Canadian federal election The 1935 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 1935, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Min ...

. He would be badly defeated by Social Credit candidate James Alexander Marshall.

References

External links

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Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George Smith, George Peter Candidates in the 1935 Canadian federal election Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Year of death missing Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Education ministers of Alberta