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. He was educated at Fulneck School,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, before coming to Canada in 1909. Quelch served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in

World War I 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 ...

from 1914 to 1918. During his distinguished military career, he achieved the rank of Captain and was awarded the prestigious

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for bravery.

Political career

Quelch first ran for public office in the 1935 Canadian federal election as a candidate 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

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

district 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 ...

. In that election, he defeated incumbent Robert Gardiner and two other candidates in a landslide victory. Quelch stood for re-election for a second term in office in the

1940 Canadian federal election The 1940 Canadian federal election was held March 26, 1940, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 19th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party was re-elected to their second consecuti ...

. In one of the closest contests in that election, he retained his seat by a margin of 27 votes, defeating

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 ...

candidate Arthur Day, whom he had previously faced in 1935. Quelch was re-elected to his third term in the 1945 Canadian federal election by a much more comfortable margin, and was re-elected to a fourth term in the 1949 Canadian federal election. In 1950, Quelch was appointed by Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent to serve as one of six members from all parties as a Parliamentary adviser to the Canadian staff to the United Nations Assembly. He was re-elected to his fifth term in office in the 1953 Canadian federal election. In that election, he once again faced and defeated Liberal candidate Arthur Day for the third time in another close election. Quelch would run for his final term in office in the

1957 Canadian federal election The 1957 Canadian federal election was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 23rd Parliament of Canada. In one of the greatest upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative ...

; he won in a landslide and retired from federal politics a year later when the government dissolved in 1958. Over his 23 years of service in the House of Commons of Canada, he served as critic for finance, agriculture, and fisheries. Quelch died of pneumonia in September 1975 but, due to an oversight, no tribute was paid to him as was custom with deceased former members from the Canadian House of Commons. Twenty-four years later, Member of Parliament David Chatters paid tribute to the memory of Quelch during the Statements by Members period on December 15, 1999. Quelch's great-granddaughter was working for Chatters at the time and she wrote the tribute read by Chatters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quelch, Victor 1891 births 1975 deaths British expatriates in British Guiana British emigrants to Canada People educated at Fulneck School Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Social Credit Party of Canada MPs Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian recipients of the Military Cross 20th-century Canadian politicians