John Farquhar Lymburn (September 25, 1880 – November 25, 1969) was a Canadian politician who served as Attorney-General of

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 ...

from 1926 until 1935. Born and educated in Scotland, he came to Canada in 1911 and practiced law in

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 ...

. In 1925,

John Edward Brownlee John Edward Brownlee, (August 27, 1883 – July 15, 1961) was the fifth premier of Alberta, serving from 1925 until 1934. Born in Port Ryerse, Ontario, he studied history and political science at the University of Toronto's Victoria College ...

became

Premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The ...

, and sought a lawyer without partisan affiliation to succeed him as attorney-general. Lymburn accepted the position, and was elected to 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 ...

in the 1926 election. As attorney-general, Lymburn took part in negotiations between the Alberta and federal governments over natural resource rights, prepared Alberta's submission in the

Persons case ''Edwards v Canada (AG)''also known as the ''Persons Case'' (french: l'Affaire « personne »)is a famous Canadian constitutional case that decided in 1929 that women were eligible to sit in the Senate of Canada. The legal case was put forward b ...

, and played a minor role in the

sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...

that forced Brownlee from office. In the 1935 provincial election, Lymburn and all other

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 ...

candidates were defeated, as

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first leader o ...

led the Social Credit League to victory. Lymburn made an unsuccessful attempt to return to the legislature in 1942, and briefly returned to prominence during the

Bankers' Toadies incident The Bankers' Toadies incident occurred in 1937 in the Canadian province of Alberta when a pamphlet advocating the "extermination" of nine men identified as "Bankers' Toadies" (in other words, servants of bank owners) was distributed to Members ...

, before dying in 1969.

Early life

Lymburn was born in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, Scotland to William and Margaret (Farquhar) Lymburn. He attended Ayr Grammar School and

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is a non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children of ages 11–18 fro ...

before studying law at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. After graduating, he apprenticed with Dougall, Gouldie, and Douglas; he qualified as a solicitor in 1903. In 1911 he emigrated to Canada, settling in

where he joined Short, Cross, and Biggar. Two years later, he co-founded Lymburn, Mackenzie, and Cooke (later renamed Lymburn, Reid, and Cobbledick).Munro 277 In the interim, he had married fellow Scot Isabella Marguerite Clark on July 19, 1912. The couple had three daughters: Marguerite Dormer, Mary Doreen Farquhar, and Constance Clark. John Lymburn was made

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1926.

Attorney-general

In 1925, attorney-general

succeeded

Herbert Greenfield Herbert W. Greenfield (November 25, 1869 – August 23, 1949) was a Canadian politician and farmer who served as the fourth premier of Alberta from 1921 until 1925. Born in Winchester, Hampshire, in England, he immigrated to Canada in his late tw ...

as the leader of the

(UFA)'s provincial caucus and

. Brownlee was the only lawyer in the UFA caucus, which was dominated by farmers. In appointing an attorney-general to replace himself, he looked outside his caucus and appointed Lymburn, in part because of his lack of affiliation with any provincial political party. By convention, all cabinet ministers, including attorneys-general, were expected to sit in the

. Accordingly, Lymburn ran in the 1926 provincial election in

as a UFA candidate, the first time that the overwhelmingly rural party had run a candidate in either of Alberta's two major cities. He finished first of eighteen candidates in Edmonton, and became one of Edmonton's five Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). As attorney-general, Lymburn was involved in many of the Brownlee government's most important initiatives. He was a major figure in securing the transfer of resource rights from the federal government to the Alberta government. Once the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

began to breed labour militancy, at Brownlee's request he prepared a list of known

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

leaders so that the government could take action to deport them. When Alberta became the only province to support the appellants in the "

", Lymburn was responsible for its submission. He was also involved in scandal: the former head of the Liquor Investigation Bureau made allegations against him after Lymburn eliminated the Bureau to save money, though the charges had little effect either in the legal system or in the public eye. During the

John Brownlee sex scandal The John Brownlee sex scandal occurred in 1934 in Alberta, Canada, and forced the resignation of the provincial Premier, John Edward Brownlee. Brownlee was accused of seducing Vivian MacMillan, a family friend and a secretary for Brownlee's atto ...

, in which Brownlee was sued for the seduction of a family friend, Lymburn became the focus of controversy after his department hired a

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

to look into claims that 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 ...

lawyer had offered a young woman money to "put Mr. Brownlee in such a position that Mrs. Brownlee could get a divorce". Taking the stand during the trial, Lymburn stated that the investigation had been initiated not to aid in the premier's defence, but because the alleged solicitation was a criminal offence. He noted further that Brownlee had insisted on refunding to the government the cost of the investigator. When the scandal forced Brownlee's resignation as premier, Lymburn stayed on as attorney-general in the short-lived government of

Richard Gavin Reid Richard Gavin "Dick" Reid (17 January 1879 – 17 October 1980) was a Canadian politician who served as the sixth premier of Alberta from 1934 to 1935. He was the last member of the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) to hold the office, and that par ...

. The conservative Reid government was suffering damage to its popularity as a result of the Great Depression, and radical economic theories, most notably the version of

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 ...

espoused by Calgary evangelist

, were gaining currency among the public. The government's position was that Aberhart's proposals were beyond the legal authority of the provincial government, since they involved banking, which the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

makes a responsibility of the federal government. As attorney-general, Lymburn played a major role in defending this position. When the government brought social credit founder

C. H. Douglas Major Clifford Hugh "C. H." Douglas, MIMechE, MIEE (20 January 1879 – 29 September 1952), was a British engineer and pioneer of the social credit economic reform movement. Education and engineering career C.H. Douglas was born in either Edge ...

from the United Kingdom as an advisor, Lymburn provided him with a copy of one of Aberhart's speeches and asked him to critique it; Douglas concluded that Aberhart's proposals did not align with "Douglasite" social credit, and that many of them would not have the desired effect.

Later life

In the 1935 provincial election, the UFA was wiped out of the legislature by Aberhart's upstart Social Credit League. As historian Franklin Foster has noted, "it was an ironic footnote to the demise of the most politically successful farmers' group in history that the one UFA candidate who came closest to re-election was lawyer John Lymburn in the City of Edmonton." After defeat, Lymburn remained active in community life as an elder in Edmonton's First Presbyterian Church, chairman of the Advisory Board of the Students' Christian Movement, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Beulah Home for unmarried mothers, and president of the Edmonton Scottish Society. He was also a long-standing member of the Mayfair Golf and Country Club.Munro 278 He was an aficionado of the work of fellow

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

native

Robbie Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

, whose poetry he could recite in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

, and often spoke at

Burns supper A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), the author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, known as Burns Night ( sc ...

s. Lymburn briefly re-entered the public eye in 1937, when he was named in a Social Credit-produced pamphlet as one of eight " Bankers' Toadies" who should be "exterminated"; Social Credit

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

Joseph Unwin Joseph Henry Unwin (September 15, 1892 – January 4, 1987) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1940 as a member of the Social Credit Party. 1935 election Unwin ran in the 1935 ...

was convicted of criminal libel in relation to the pamphlet.Barr 109–110 In 1942, Lymburn contested a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

; he finished third of five candidates as

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 ...

of the

Cooperative 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 socialistThe follo ...

emerged victorious. Marguerite Lymburn died in 1958. John Lymburn died eleven years later, on November 25, 1969.

Electoral record

References

* * * * *

Notes