Aylmer John Eggert Liesemer (November 27, 1905 – January 4, 1995) was a Canadian politician and teacher.

Early life

Liesemer was born in Didsbury,

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 1905. He received all of his early public grade school in Didsbury with the exception of 1 year in Calgary. In 1921 and 1922, Liesemer attended Normal School in Calgary at what became the Administration Building for the

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is a polytechnic institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. SAIT offers more than 110 career programs in technology, trades and business. Established in 1916, it is Calgary's second oldest post-se ...

. He was one of the first class of graduates from that school. Liesemer became a teacher and taught in Didsbury and Calgary. He started teaching High School students in 1930 through to his retirement in 1970. He was an instructor in history, geography and social studies at Crescent Heights High School in Calgary. He kept teaching while still performing his duties in the public offices he held.

Municipal politics

Liesemer served as an Alderman for the city of Calgary from 1934 to 1937. In 1937 he challenged Incumbent Mayor

Andrew Davison Andrew Davison (December 18, 1886 – April 6, 1963) was a Canadian politician, printer and 24th Mayor of Calgary. He served as alderman 1922 to 1926 and mayor 1929 to 1945. He also served as a member of the Alberta Legislature 1940 to 1948 ...

but failed in his bid to defeat the mayor.

Provincial career

Aylmer Liesemer first ran as a Labor politician in the

1935 Alberta general election The 1935 Alberta general election was held on August 22, 1935, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The newly founded Social Credit Party of Alberta won a sweeping victory, unseating the 14-year government of the United Farmer ...

and was badly defeated finishing 15th out of 20 candidates. Liesemer attempted to run for federal politics 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 the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

electoral district. He ran as the Cooperative Commonwealth candidate finishing 4th out of 5 candidates losing to incumbent Charles Edward Johnston. Liesemer would run again in the

1944 Alberta general election The 1944 Alberta general election was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Overview The election was the first contested by leader Ernest C. Manning. Previously Provincial Secretary, he became leader ...

this time as a candidate for the provincial Cooperative Commonwealth he find electoral success winning the 5th spot in the

Single Transferable Vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...

. Aylmer would be reelected to a second term in the

1948 Alberta general election The 1948 Alberta general election was held on August 17, 1948, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Ernest C. Manning led the Social Credit to a fourth term in government, increasing its share of the popular vote further above ...

and ultimately defeated after serving two terms in the 1952 Alberta general election. He attempted to win his seat back running in Calgary North in the 1959 Alberta general election but was badly defeated by incumbent

Rose Wilkinson Rosamond Wilkinson (née Owens; March 19, 1885 – December 18, 1968) was a provincial and municipal level politician from Alberta, Canada. She served as Calgary city councillor 1936-1955 and as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta fr ...

from

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

. He died in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

in 1995 at the age of 89.

References

External links

City of Calgary, Aldermanic Galley Page 107Legislative Assembly of Alberta membership list
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liesemer, Aylmer 1905 births 1995 deaths Calgary city councillors Alberta Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs People from Didsbury, Alberta