Isidore Charles "Toby" Nollet (November 18, 1898 – April 29, 1988) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born rancher and political figure in

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 represented Cut Knife from 1944 to 1964 and Cut Knife-Lloydminster from 1964 to 1967 in 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 ...

as a

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

(CCF) member.

Biography

He was born in

Sentinel Butte, North Dakota Sentinel Butte is a city in Golden Valley County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 61 at the 2020 census. Sentinel Butte was founded in 1902 along the transcontinental rail line of the Northern Pacific Railway. The name comes fr ...

and was educated at Saint Benedict's Academy and Saint Thomas Military College in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Nollet served overseas with the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, with his father, he moved to Freemont, Saskatchewan, where he established a ranch that raised

Aberdeen Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scottish breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine and Angus in north-eastern Scotland. In 2018 the breed accounted for over 17 ...

cattle. Nollet served as reeve of the rural municipality of Hillsdale. He was a member of the

United Farmers of Canada The United Farmers of Canada was a radical farmers organization. It was established in 1926 as the United Farmers of Canada (Saskatchewan Section) as a merger of the Farmers' Union of Canada and the Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association.MacPh ...

and of the

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was a grain handling, agri-food processing and marketing company based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Pool created a network of marketing alliances in North America and internationally which made it the largest agricul ...

. In 1933, he married Patricia "Peggy" Chicilo. Nollet served as deputy speaker for the provincial assembly and then was a member of the provincial cabinet, serving as

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 ...

from 1946 to 1964. He helped develop the South Saskatchewan River Project. Nollet retired from politics in 1967. In 1975, he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. He died in

Kelowna, British Columbia Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

at the age of 89. The Toby Nollet Bridge over the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

was named in his honour.

References

Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century Canadian politicians 1898 births 1988 deaths People from Golden Valley County, North Dakota American emigrants to Canada United States Army personnel of World War I Canadian ranchers {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub