James Harper Prowse Jr. (November 3, 1913 – September 27, 1976), was a politician, barrister and solicitor 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 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 1945 to 1959, first as an independent and then as a Liberal. He led the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election ...

from 1948 to 1958 and served as a senator from 1966 until his death in 1976.

Early life

James Harper Prowse Jr. was born in

Taber, Alberta Taber is a town in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Municipal District of Taber. It is approximately east of the City of Lethbridge at the intersection of Highway 3 and Highway 36. Taber is famous for its corn due to the la ...

, on November 3, 1913. He took his post-secondary education at the

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

World War II

Prowse enlisted in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

in 1940. He served five years overseas during the Second World War, mostly in the Italian Campaign, and rose to the rank of captain. He was wounded twice during combat. His army career ended after he was elected to the Alberta Legislature in the 1945 service vote.

Provincial politics

Prowse had been introduced to politics at a young age when his father, James Harper Prowse Sr., ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1926 general election in the electoral district of Taber. Prowse first ran for a seat in the legislature in the 1945 serviceman vote that was the last stage of the general election held the previous year. He ran as a candidate in the army vote and won the polls with 17% of the popular vote over 21 other candidates on February 5, 1945. The vote was non-partisan so Prowse sat as an independent in the legislature. After winning the election and returning to Edmonton, Prowse became a journalist for the ''

Edmonton Bulletin The ''Edmonton Bulletin'' was a newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta, published from 1880 until January 20, 1951. It was founded by Edmonton pioneer Frank Oliver, a future Liberal politician and cabinet minister in the Canadian Government. Oliver co- ...

''. He crossed the floor to the Liberals after announcing his intention to run for the leadership of the party on April 10, 1947. He said of his decision, "The political situation has reached a point where there is no longer any advantage to be gained by remaining neutral." Prowse was elected leader of the party on the first ballot at the Liberals' annual convention on June 26, 1947. The convention was attended by 476 delegates. He defeated two other candidates, Jonathan Wheatly and

Joseph Tremblay Joseph Harry René Tremblay (September 21, 1899 – November 26, 1990) was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1944, sitting as a Liberal member from the constitu ...

. The serviceman seats were abolished after the end of the Second World War, and Prowse decided to contest a seat in the

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 ...

electoral district in the 1948 Alberta election. He took the fourth of five seats in the multi-member district. The Liberal party won one other seat besides his own and took 17% of the popular vote. In the

1952 Alberta general election The 1952 Alberta general election was held on August 5, 1952, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Ernest C. Manning in his third election as leader of the Social Credit Party, and its first election since the Social Credit ...

Prowse won the second seat in Edmonton. He led the Liberals to four seats and 22% of the popular vote. In the 1955 general election the Liberals made their best showing in decades, winning 15 seats and earning 31% of the popular vote. Prowse again took the second seat in Edmonton. Prowse stepped down as leader of the Liberal party in 1958 and retired from the legislature at dissolution in 1959. He did not run in the 1959 provincial election. He ran for mayor of

in the 1959 municipal election; he lost to

Elmer Roper Elmer Ernest Roper (June 4, 1893 – November 12, 1994) was a Canadian businessman, trade unionist and politician. He was a Alberta Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1942-1955, and mayor of E ...

Federal politics

Prowse first ran for a seat to 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 1962 federal election in the electoral district of

Edmonton West Edmonton West (french: Edmonton-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988, from 1997 to 2004 and again since 2015. Demographics History and geography T ...

as a candidate for the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

. He finished a close second to incumbent

Marcel Lambert Marcel Joseph Aimé Lambert, (August 21, 1919 – September 24, 2000) was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (1962–1963). Life and career Lambert was born in St. Albert, to a French Canadian father and a Be ...

and ahead of former Member of Parliament Orvis Kennedy. The minority parliament was dissolved less than a year later and so came the 1963 federal election. Prowse ran again in Edmonton West but still finished behind Lambert. Prowse was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

on the advice of Prime Minister

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

in 1967. He represented Edmonton there until his death on September 27, 1976.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prowse, James 1913 births 1976 deaths Independent Alberta MLAs Leaders of the Alberta Liberal Party Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Candidates in the 1962 Canadian federal election Candidates in the 1963 Canadian federal election Canadian senators from Alberta Canadian military personnel of World War II Liberal Party of Canada senators People from Taber, Alberta University of Alberta alumni Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons