Hugh John Montgomery (July 31, 1876 – August 30, 1956) was a 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 ...

, Canada. He served as a politician on the municipal and provincial levels of government in Alberta. He served on the city council of Wetaskiwin in various posts between 1906 and 1929. He also served in 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 singl ...

from 1914 to 1921 and again from 1930 to 1935 as a member of the Liberal Party in both government and opposition.

Early life

Hugh John Montgomery was born in Bedeque,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

on July 31, 1878. He grew up on the island and attended Charlottetown Business College He moved west in 1898 after graduating and settled in Wetaskiwin when it was still in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. Montgomery became a merchandiser and owned part of a large grain and livestock ranch. He became involved in municipal politics soon after settling in the community.

Political career

Municipal

Montgomery served as an Alderman in Wetaskiwin from 1906 to 1909. He ran successfully for mayor of the city in 1910. In 1922 he was elected Chief Magistrate of the city and held that position until 1929.

Provincial

Montgomery first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in a by-election on November 17, 1914, in the electoral district of

Wetaskiwin Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word ''wītaskiwinihk'', meaning "the hills where peace was made". Wetaskiwin is ...

. The by-election was called after the death of incumbent Charles Olin. Montgomery was elected by a wide margin over Conservative candidate Finlay Watson, who thus lost his deposit. In the 1917 general election he was re-elected in a landslide over Conservative candidate R.M. Angus. In the 1921 general election he was defeated by

Evert Sparks Evert Ellsworth Sparks (September 10, 1879 – May 11, 1972) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1930 as a member of the United Farmers caucus in government. Political career Spar ...

of 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 ...

. Montgomery and Sparks faced each other again in the 1926 general election, Sparks beat Montgomery by less than two hundred votes on the second vote count. The Conservative candidate's second-choice ballots were distributed after being dropped out in the first round, and most of them went to the UFA candidate, instead of to Montgomery.A Report on Alberta Elections, 1905-1982 Montgomery ran against Sparks for the third time in the 1930 general election and defeated him in a closely contested two-way, thus returning to office nine years after his defeat. Montgomery was defeated again in the 1935 general election, this time by

John Wingblade John Alfred Wingblade (February 26, 1883 – May 14, 1984) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1963 as a member of the Social Credit Party. Political career Wingblade ran for a s ...

of the Social Credit League. He finished a distant second in the field of five candidates. Montgomery attempted another comeback as an independent in the 1944 general election. He was once again defeated by Wingblade, finishing a very distant third place in the field of four candidates.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Hugh Alberta Liberal Party MLAs 1870s births Mayors of places in Alberta 1956 deaths