John Smith Stewart, (18 May 1878 – 14 August 1970) was a Canadian politician and

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 ...

Early life

John Smith Stewart was born 16 May 1878 in the

Brampton, Ontario Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it th ...

, to John Stewart and Mary Armstrong. Stewart moved 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 ...

at the age of 19 in 1896. Stewart later studied dentistry at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, completing his studies in 1903. He moved to Lethbridge and married Jean McClure on 25 September 1907; she died in 1914. Stewart was appointed to the board of the newly established

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 ...

in 1909.

Military career

Stewart's military career began as a private in

Strathcona's Horse Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH C is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mechanize ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. During this time he served under Lieutenant-Colonel

Sam Steele Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele (5 January 1848 – 30 January 1919) was a distinguished Canadian soldier and police official. He was an officer of the North-West Mounted Police, most famously as head of the Yukon detachment during the ...

, and earned the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with four clasps. Stewart received his commission, completing his studies at the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

in February 1908 to form the 25th Artillery Battery. On the outbreak of the First World War, Stewart was asked to command the 20th Artillery Battery from Lethbridge, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel before going overseas on 9 August 1915. He was eventually promoted to

on 7 July 1917, and later transferred to the

3rd Canadian Division The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from th ...

from December 1917 to demobilization. Stewart was wounded twice and mentioned in dispatches twice. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and made a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG). Stewart returned to Alberta on 19 January 1919 in time for sitting in the legislature.

Political career

Stewart was first elected to the 2nd Alberta Legislature as a member of the

Alberta Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (often referred to colloquially as Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta) was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party ...

in 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 ...

held in the

Lethbridge City Lethbridge City was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1909 to 1921. History The Lethbridge City ele ...

electoral district on 31 October 1911. Stewart defeated his

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 ...

opponent S. J. Shepherd by 183 votes. The by-election came as a result of the resignation of

William Ashbury Buchanan William Francis Asbury Buchanan (July 2, 1876 – July 12, 1954) was a Canadian journalist, newspaper publisher and politician from Alberta. Early life William Francis Asbury Buchanan was born on July 2, 1876 at South Monaghan, Northumberl ...

, who was elected in the

1911 Canadian federal election The 1911 Canadian federal election was held on September 21, 1911 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 12th Parliament of Canada. The central issue was Liberal support for a proposed agreement with the United States to lower ...

. Stewart was subsequently re-elected in

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

and acclaimed in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

by an act of the legislature which provided members serving overseas in the

First World War 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 ...

would be acclaimed. The Lethbridge City electoral district was dissolved prior to the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments. The Liberal Party, which had governed the province since it ...

, which saw Stewart defeat his Labour opponent John Marsh by 978 votes. While Stewart ran as an independent, he was the only former Conservative member to be returned to the legislature in 1921. Stewart contested the

1925 Canadian federal election The 1925 Canadian federal election was held on October 29, 1925 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 15th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative party took the most seats in the House of Commons, although not a majority. Pri ...

in the Lethbridge riding, representing the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

. He was defeated by incumbent Progressive candidate Lincoln Henry Jelliff by 743 votes. Stewart did not contest the quickly called 1926 federal election, but he did contest the 1930 election defeating Progressive candidate Thomas Owen King by 987 votes, earning a seat in

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 ...

. Stewart was unable to hold his seat in the 1935 election, being defeated by federal Social Credit candidate

John Horne Blackmore John Horne Blackmore (March 27, 1890 – May 2, 1971) was a Canadian school teacher and principal and Canadian politician. He was one of the first elected members and leaders of the Social Credit Party of Canada, a political party in Canada th ...

by a wide margin of over 3,600 votes. Stewart tried again and fail to unseat Blackmore again in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. As a

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Stewart took an interest in

Waterton Lakes National Park Waterton Lakes National Park is a national park located in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada. It borders Glacier National Park in Montana, United States. Waterton was the fourth Canadian national park, formed in 1895 and named after Waterto ...

, leading the Canadian negotiations for the establishment of

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is the union of Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and Glacier National Park in the United States. Both parks are declared Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO and their union as a World Heritage Site. H ...

with American

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Scott Leavitt Scott Leavitt (June 16, 1879 – October 19, 1966) was a U.S. Representative from Montana. He served as chairman of the House Committee on Indian Affairs. Early life Scott Leavitt was born in Elk Rapids, Michigan in 1879 to Roswell Leavitt, a ...

Later life

Stewart continued his dental practice for over 58 years until retiring in 1960 at the age of 83. The General Stewart School, an elementary school in Lethbridge was named for him in 1957, and the same year he was awarded an honorary law degree from the University of Alberta. Stewart returned to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

for the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Mons in 1968, receiving the . Stewart died on 14 August 1970 at the age of 93.

References

External links

*
Peel Digital Library – From Brock to Currie : the military development and exploits of Canadians in general and of the men of Peel in particular, 1791 to 1930John Smith Stewart fonds, Library and Archives Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, John 1878 births 1970 deaths Canadian military personnel from Ontario Canadian generals of World War I Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Canadian military personnel of the Second Boer War Canadian dentists Lord Strathcona's Horse soldiers Canadian Militia officers Royal Military College of Canada alumni Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers