Olaf Alexander Turnbull (December 30, 1917 – March 15, 2004) was a farmer, educator 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 Elrose from 1960 to 1964 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. He was born near

Kindersley, Saskatchewan Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,59 ...

, the son of Harry Gordon Turnbull and Ingaborg Swanson, and was educated locally, going on to earn a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in Agricultural Economics 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 ...

. Turnbull served on the council for the rural municipality of

Kindersley Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,597 ...

and was also a director and vice-president for the

Saskatchewan Farmers' Union 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 ...

. In 1945, he married Alice Turner. Turnbull was a candidate for the leadership of the Saskatchewan CCF in 1961. He was a member of the provincial cabinet, serving as Minister of Co-operation and Co-operative Development and as Minister of Education. Turnbull was defeated by George Leith when he ran for reelection to the Saskatchewan assembly in 1964. After retiring from politics, he briefly returned to farming and then was hired by the Western Co-operative College of Canada in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. Turnbull was executive director for the college from 1972 to 1982. After retiring from the college, he worked overseas with the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2013 by the federal governmen ...

. Turnbull died in Saskatoon at the age of 86.

References

Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century Canadian politicians 1917 births 2004 deaths People from Kindersley {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub