George Harold Van Allen (June 22, 1890 – June 15, 1937) was a Canadian provincial politician 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 ...

. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

from 1935 to his death in 1937, sitting with the

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 ...

caucus in government.

Early life

George Harold Van Allen was born June 22, 1890 at Crysler's Farm in

Morrisburg, Ontario Morrisburg is an unincorporated community in the Municipality of South Dundas, located in Eastern Ontario, Canada. History On November 11, 1813, the Battle of Crysler's Farm, at which a British force repelled an invading American army, took pla ...

to Wilbur Van Allen and Florence Louise Hayunga, both Canadian ancestors of

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...

. Van Allen attended Morrisburg High School and was educated to become a teacher. He moved to Lethbridge in 1912 to become a principal, and soon after relocated to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

to attend the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

where he completed his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

. Van Allen was admitted to the bar in 1915, formed his own practice in 1919 and was named King's Counsel in 1929. He married Ruby Thomer on December 23, 1926 and together had three sons and one daughter. Van Allen served as government counsel during the Royal Commission on Grain Freight Rates in 1923–1924, and as the President of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce in 1928-1929.

Political life

George Van Allen was elected to the

8th Alberta Legislature The 8th Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from February 6, 1936, to February 16, 1940, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 1935 Alberta general election held on August 22, 1935. The Legislature officially ...

in the district of

in the

1935 Alberta general election The 1935 Alberta general election was held on August 22, 1935, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The newly founded Social Credit Party of Alberta won a sweeping victory, unseating the 14-year government of the United Farmer ...

. Van Allen was one of six candidates elected for the district, which included two other Liberals in William R. Howson and

Gerald O'Connor Charles Gerald O'Connor (December 3, 1890 – November 16, 1949) was a provincial politician and judge from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1940, sitting with the Liberal caucus in gove ...

. As an MLA, Van Allen focused his attention on the state of the agricultural industry and was concerned with the

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 ...

economic policies. Van Allen contracted the flu in the autumn of 1936 that developed into pneumonia. He sought treatment in California and Minnesota until his death at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota part way through his term in office on June 15, 1937 at the age of 46.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Allen, George Alberta Liberal Party MLAs University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumni Politicians from Edmonton Canadian King's Counsel 1937 deaths 1890 births People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry