George Spence, (October 25, 1880 – March 4, 1975) 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 ...

provincial and federal politician. Born in

Birsay Birsay () (Old Norse: ''Birgisherað'') is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient ...

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the son of Thomas Spence and Elizabeth Hunter, he studied electrical engineering at the

Leith Academy Leith Academy is a state school in Leith, Edinburgh. It currently educates around 1000 pupils and around 2,800 part-time adult learners. Mike Irving has been head teacher since August 2017. History It is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, w ...

Technical College and emigrated to Canada in 1900 to pan for gold in the Yukon. In 1903, he moved to

Austin, Manitoba Austin is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in western Manitoba on the Trans-Canada Highway about west of Winnipeg. It is part of the Municipality of North Norfolk. It sits at the western edge of the table-flat Portag ...

where he was a farmer. In 1912, he moved to Monchy,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. He was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

in 1917 for the riding of Notukeu. A

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, he was re-elected in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

and

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

. He resigned his provincial seat in 1925 and was elected in the 1925 federal election in the riding of Maple Creek. A

, he was re-elected in the 1926 federal election. He resigned his seat in 1927 to re-enter provincial politics, where he was appointed Minister of Railways. He was also Minister of Highways, Minister of Railways, Labour and Industries,

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 Public Works. He would serve until 1938 when he was appointed Director of the

Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was a branch under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), a department of the Federal Government of Canada. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration was established by an Act of Parliam ...

. From 1947 to 1957, he was a member of the

International Joint Commission The International Joint Commission (french: Commission mixte internationale) is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Its responsibilities were expa ...

, an independent binational organization established by the United States and Canada under the International Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. In 1919, Spence married Ivy Irene May. They had two daughters. In 1946 he was made Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1948. In 1974, he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. He was the author of ''Survival of a Vision'', published in 1967. Spence died in Regina at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, George 1880 births 1975 deaths Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan People from Orkney Scottish emigrants to Canada Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs People educated at Leith Academy