Robert Gardiner (February 24, 1879 February 6, 1945) was a farmer and federal Member of Parliament from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was born in

Aberdeenshire, Scotland Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area includ ...

. Gardiner first ran for a seat in 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 ...

for the

Progressive Party of Canada The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the P ...

in a by-election on June 27, 1921. He won the district of

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...

in a landslide defeating former provincial Conservative MLA and Mayor of Medicine Hat

Nelson Spencer Nelson Charles Spencer, (7 December 1876 – 30 September 1943) was a Canadian merchant, provincial politician from Alberta, and lieutenant colonel with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during World War I. Biography Spencer was born ...

. Gardiner defended his incumbency less than 6 months later in the

1921 Canadian federal election The 1921 Canadian federal election was held on December 6, 1921, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and re ...

. He was easily re-elected in the cold winter election, defeating by a landslide the future Member of Parliament

Frederick William Gershaw Frederick William Gershaw (11 April 1883 – 26 June 1968) was a Canadian physician and politician. Born in Emerson, Manitoba, he received a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Manitoba in 1911. He became a medical officer for the ...

a candidate from the Liberals. 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 ...

saw the ridings in

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 ...

redistributed, Gardiner changed to the brand new

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

district. In his 3rd bid for election he would go up against former

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 ...

MLA Robert Eaton. He would defeat Eaton in another landslide victory. Less than a year later another election would be called after the collapse of the Liberal Progressive coalition, Gardiner would run for a 4th term in office and for the 4th time in just 5 years. He easily won his district again in the

1926 Canadian federal election The 1926 Canadian federal election was held on September 14, 1926, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called after an event known as the King–Byng affair. In the 1925 feder ...

this time under the banner of the

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 ...

. Gardiner would be acclaimed to his 5th term in the

1930 Canadian federal election The 1930 Canadian federal election was held on July 28, 1930, to elect members of the House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Canada. Richard Bedford Bennett's Conservative Party won a majority government, defeating the Liberal Party led by ...

and also served as president of the UFA. Upon running for his 6th term in office, this time under the

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 ...

banner, he would be defeated by

Victor Quelch Victor Quelch (December 13, 1891 – September 2, 1975) was a farmer, soldier in the Canadian Army, and long-serving Canadian federal politician. Military service Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Quelch was the son of British parents. ...

from the

Social Credit Party of Canada The Social Credit Party of Canada (french: Parti Crédit social du Canada), colloquially known as the Socreds, was a populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the Canadi ...

in the

1935 Canadian federal election The 1935 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 1935, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Min ...

. He died in Calgary in 1945. Gardiner was a member of the

Ginger Group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to act ...

of radical MPs in the 1920s and early 1930s.

References

External links

* 1879 births 1945 deaths People from Aberdeenshire Scottish emigrants to Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Progressive Party of Canada MPs Ginger Group MPs United Farmers of Alberta MPs Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates for the Canadian House of Commons {{alberta-politician-stub