Walter Van De Walle (July 20, 1922 – April 21, 2011) was a Canadian politician 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 ...

and former member of 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 ...

. Van De Walle was born to

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

immigrants in the hamlet of Villeneuve on the shores of

Big Lake, Alberta Big Lake is a lake in Edmonton metropolitan region, Canada. It is located adjacent to the northwest corner of Edmonton and the southwest corner of St. Albert. Its primary inflow is the Sturgeon River. The lake sits on the sands and gravels of ...

. He lived his whole life in the area, and married Fernande Préfontaine in 1950. In 1945, he moved to

Legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

in order to farm. Van De Walle's political career began in 1958 when he was elected to the

Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

school division board of trustees, on which he served until 1965. In 1959, he was elected to the Sturgeon County council. He was re-elected in 1962, 1965, 1968, 1971 and 1974. He left municipal politics in 1977. In 1985, Van De Walle was inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame for his advocacy of canola products and for starting a provincial program that urged farmers to use herbicides more responsibly.Van De Walle, Walter - 1985 Hall of Fame Inductee
/ref> In 1986,

Peter Elzinga Peter Elzinga (born April 6, 1944) was the executive director of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, Progressive Conservative Party in Alberta, Canada, a former Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament in the House o ...

resigned his position as MLA for to run for

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 ...

in the Pembina by-election. Van De Walle was nominated to be his replacement by the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

, and won a narrow upset victory over

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

Ivor Dent Ivor Graham Dent, (February 7, 1924 – March 29, 2009) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as mayor of Edmonton (1968-1974) and was a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on behal ...

, a former

Mayor of Edmonton This is a list of mayors of Edmonton, a city in Alberta, Canada. Edmonton was incorporated as a town on January 9, 1892, with Matthew McCauley acclaimed as its first mayor during the town's first election, held February 10, 1892. On October 8 ...

. Van De Walle was easily re-elected in the 1988 election in the newly formed riding of St. Albert, receiving more than twice the votes of his closest rival. He did not seek re-election in the 1993 election. Following his retirement from politics, Van De Walle continued to live near Legal and continued to be active in the community. He served as a trustee of the Sturgeon Hospital Foundation and was an active member of the

Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians The Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians (CAFP) is a non-profit organization, established by an Act of the Parliament of Canada, the membership of which is composed of former members of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada. Hist ...

. On April 21, 2011, Van De Walle died in St. Albert at the age of 88.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van De Walle, Walter 1922 births 2011 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs 20th-century Canadian farmers Canadian people of Belgian descent