Neil Stanley Crawford (May 26, 1931 – August 25, 1992) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

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.

Early life

Neil Crawford was born in

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because ...

. He married Catherine May Hughes September 3, 1951, graduated from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Law School in 1954, 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 ...

, Alberta during the 1950s and 1960s, before becoming involved in politics. Crawford served as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for the city of Edmonton from 1966–1971.

Federal involvement

Crawford was actively involved with federal politics. He served as an executive assistant to Prime Minister

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

between 1961 and 1963, and served as Young Progressive Conservative Association President from 1963 to 1964. He had a jazz band composed of provincial MLAs called the Tory Blue Notes, and played

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

Provincial politics

Crawford 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 ...

for the first time in the

1971 Alberta general election The 1971 Alberta general election was the seventeenth general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on August 30, 1971, to elect seventy-five members of the Alberta Legislature to form the 17th Alberta Legislative Assembly. The Progr ...

for the new district of

Edmonton-Parkallen Edmonton-Parkallen 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 1971 to 1993. History The Edmonton-Parka ...

. He served a total of five terms from 1971 to 1989 for the Progressive Conservatives. During his time in the assembly he served numerous portfolios in the cabinet. He was Minister of Health and Social Development, Minister of Labour, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Attorney General, Government House Leader and lastly responsible for the government's Special Projects. In December 1986 he held a press conference to announce he was afflicted with

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

(also known as ALS). He served out the rest of his term and retired in 1989. He died on August 25, 1992, of ALS in Edmonton.Neil Crawford, former Tory minister, dies at 61; `My boss, friend and teacher, he taught me everything I know about the legislature,' aide recalls: inal EditionEdmonton Journal dmonton, Alta26 Aug 1992: A5. The Neil Crawford Centre, a Government of Alberta office complex in south Edmonton, is named in his honour. The Edmonton subdivision of

Crawford Plains, Edmonton Crawford Plains is a residential neighbourhood located in the Mill Woods area of south Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is a part of the Mill Woods community of Southwood. It was named in 1976 to honour Neil Stanley Crawford, a provincial cabinet m ...

, as well as the Crawford Plains Elementary School are also named for him.

References

External links

Tribute to Neil Crawford Legislative Assembly of Alberta Hansard September 21, 1992
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Neil 1931 births 1992 deaths Canadian jazz trumpeters Male trumpeters Neurological disease deaths in Alberta Deaths from motor neuron disease Edmonton city councillors Lawyers in Alberta Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Alberta University of Saskatchewan College of Law alumni 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians 20th-century Canadian legislators Politicians from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan