Harry Edwin Strom (July 7, 1914 – October 2, 1984) was the ninth

premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta, and the province's head of government. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The ...

, from 1968 to 1971. His two-and-a-half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six-year

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 ...

dynasty, as his defeat by

Peter Lougheed Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth. Bo ...

saw its replacement by a new era Progressive Conservative government. He is remembered as an honest, decent man who lacked the political skills of his predecessor,

Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning, (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996), a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in Alberta's histor ...

, or of Lougheed. Alberta's first native-born Premier, Strom was born in Burdett, Alberta. He worked most of his young adult life on the family farm, and was also actively involved in his church. After a stint in municipal politics, he ran for the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

in the 1955 provincial election, and was elected. In 1962, Manning appointed him to his cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, a position he held until 1967 when he was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs. When Manning decided to resign in 1968, Strom became a candidate to succeed him, and finished on top of a six candidate field. As Premier, Strom undertook a number of initiatives, especially in education and youth-related fields, but was politically ineffective. He lacked both charisma and an overriding sense of purpose, and his government gradually lost popularity. In the 1971 election, his government was handily defeated by Lougheed's Progressive Conservatives. Strom served as opposition leader for two years, but soon relinquished the position and did not seek re-election in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. After leaving politics, Strom returned to farming. He died in 1984.

Early life

Strom was born in Burdett, Alberta, on July 7, 1914. His parents, Nils Hjalmar Strom (1877–1928)Perry, Craig 2006, pg. 491 and Elna Maria Olivia Ekensteen (1883–1969), were second generation Swedish Canadians. He attended school in Burdett before moving to Calgary to attend high school at East Calgary High School and Calgary Technical High School, where he studied mechanics. In 1931, he received a certificate from the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art. His father died the same year, and Strom returned home to help his mother with the operation of the family farm. On October 27, 1938, Strom married Ruth Johnson, with whom he would have six children—Howard, Faith, Beverly, Brian, Ronald, and Arlene. The family attended the Evangelical Free Church of Canada in

Bow Island Bow Island () is a town in Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 3 in southern Alberta, approximately north of the United States border, southeast of Calgary and southwest of Medicine Hat. History The community of Bow Island recei ...

until 1962. There, Strom served as Sunday school teacher,

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

, and board chair, in addition to his twenty years of involvement with the church's Overseas Missions Board. Besides his activities with the church, Strom was involved in the Forty Mile Rural Electrification Association, the Burdett Home and School Association, and the Agricultural Improvement Association of Burdett.

Entry into politics

In 1943, Harry Strom was elected to the council of the

County of Forty Mile No. 8 The County of Forty Mile No. 8 is a municipal district in south eastern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 1, southwest of Medicine Hat. Its municipal office is located in the Village of Foremost. Geography Communities and ...

in southern Alberta. He served on local school boards at around the same time.

MLA and cabinet minister

In the 1955 provincial election, Strom ran as the

candidate in Cypress, where the incumbent, Social Crediter James Underdahl, was not seeking re-election. He easily defeated his only opponent,

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 ...

Joe Flaig, and was elected to the

. He would be re-elected to this seat in each of the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, and 1971 elections, always winning more than 60% of the vote. In October 1962, Premier

appointed Strom Minister of Agriculture. In this capacity, he undertook a series of initiatives related to water use, including developing an agreement with

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

and

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

of the use of water emanating from the eastern slopes of Alberta's

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. He also passed a series of legislation, including the ''Soil Conservation Act'' and ''Crop Insurance Act'', and undertook a major departmental organization. The Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame, which inducted Strom in 1985, credited him with expanding the use of

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

in the province and for being a key figure leading up to the signing of a 1973 cost-sharing agreement on the subject with the federal government. He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs for the last five months of the Manning government.

Leadership election

When Manning decided to retire in 1968, he called a key group of senior ministers to his office to advise them of his decision.Barr 185 This group included Strom, Treasurer Anders Aalborg, Industry Minister Russ Patrick, Education Minister Randy McKinnon. Aalborg was the natural choice to succeed Manning, but he had health problems and declined to run. Strom had no desire for the job and rejected any suggestion from the others that he be a candidate. This rejection was not to last: a group of influential young Social Crediters, including the Premier's son Preston, started a movement to draft Strom.Barr 186 They settled on him because he was personally popular among party members and because he had displayed an openness to new ideas in the past. Strom accepted their overtures, but as late as a week before he announced his candidacy he was still offering to step aside in favour of another candidate of the young Turks' choice. Strom's campaign theme was "the social development of Alberta", and this general theme encompassed such diverse policy planks as a citizens' committee on constitutional reform, a head start program for disadvantaged youth, commissions on the future of urban planning and education, an expansion of the role of

backbenchers In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of th ...

in policy development, and the opening of a branch of the Premier's office in Calgary.Barr 187 Though he entered as the favourite, a poll in spring 1969 showed him running second of five candidates behind Minister of Transportation Gordon Taylor.Barr 188 However, he had the strongest organization of any candidate, thanks in large part to his young backers, and overcame this deficit by the fall. At the convention, Strom won a large plurality on the first ballot, finishing with nearly three times of the votes of the second place Taylor. Though the third place Raymond Reierson threw his support to the Transportation Minister before the second ballot, the results on this were decisive: Strom gained the support of more than a hundred new delegates and won a clear majority.Barr 189

Premier

Harry Strom became Premier December 12, 1968 and served until the 1971 election, when his government was defeated by

's Progressive Conservatives. This tenure makes him the fourth shortest-serving former Premier in Alberta's history, after Dave Hancock,

Jim Prentice Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candidat ...

, and Richard G. Reid.

Policy initiatives

Many of Strom's policy initiatives revolved around education and youth. He created the Alberta Service Corps, which allowed young Albertans to work summers on public services and environmental projects for remuneration, and which was one of several models for the federal government's later Katimavik program.Barr 192 In response to increasing use of illicit drugs by Alberta youth, his government, led by Education Minister Bob Clark, inserted anti- narcotics messages into the province's school curriculum. Strom implemented trial

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

programs in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and Calgary—the Calgary program, provided jointly by an inner-city community association and the

Mount Royal College Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. History Mount Royal University was founded by Alberta provincial charter by the Arthur Sifton government on December 16, 1910 and officially opened on September 8, ...

, has been called one of Canada's first public-private partnerships. His interest in educational matters was perhaps best exemplified by his government's Commission on Educational Planning, which travelled the province to solicit Albertans' views and whose final report, ''A Choice of Futures'', was credited by Barr as setting "the tone and direction for education in Alberta for the next generation". The Strom government also made substantial reforms to Alberta's post-secondary education system, expanding

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

through the creation of Athabasca University and laying the foundation's for ACCESS television, and effectively creating the province's College (as distinct from University) system. This latter move led to the creation of

Grant MacEwan College , mottoeng = , type = Public University , established = , closed = , founder = , parent = , academic_affiliations = AUCC, ACCC, AACTI ...

.Barr 193 Strom also took a number of non-educational policy initiative, such as naming Jim Henderson as the province's first Environment Minister. Other priorities were the reform of the Premier's Office and the establishment of an Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat, converted by

's government into a full ministry under

Don Getty Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...

.Barr 190Barr 191 In 1970, the government established the Alberta Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Commission.

Leadership style

Strom resisted leadership and saw himself as a conciliator, charged with maintaining unity among his cabinet and caucus. Soon after becoming Premier, Strom chief of staff Don Hamilton and strategist Owen Anderson scheduled strategy meetings with agendas drawn from Strom's leadership platform. The meetings did not lead to action, and some began to grumble that "talking about decisions was a form of action". According to Barr, Hamilton eventually started using the same agenda every week, with only the date changed, and Strom did not notice. Strom was not an effective speaker and often would not look at the text of his speeches until he was delivering them. Realizing this, Hamilton once handed him a folder with nothing but a paper reading "Sock it to 'em, Harry" before the Premier was to give a speech at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

. The Premier opened the folder and, as he became visibly alarmed, gratefully received the real speech when an aide brought it to him. Strom also resisted calling an early election to give his government a fresh mandate, despite Hamilton's impassioned advocacy for this course of action. He was no more positive towards Anderson's proposals for a radical overhaul of the party, including the computerization of political data (such as voting trends, demographic shifts, and polling results) and the purchase of an office building to make the party a profit and free it from the need for fundraising. The ideas that Strom did not reject outright were referred to committees and study groups where they were watered down or shelved. Despite these failings, Strom was recognized as possessing a number of virtues: he was kind, considerate, and honest.Barr 199 Most of all, he was humble: he had not sought the party leadership and notoriously asked after being repeatedly addressed as "Premier" at his first cabinet meeting why it could not "just be plain 'Harry' anymore". When travelling to Ottawa, he stayed at the un-posh Skyline Hotel and ate meals in its basement cafeteria, where he ordered bread and

pea soup Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of pe ...

for $0.25. On final analysis, Barr concludes that this temperament, commendable though it may be, was unsuited to running the government of an emerging economic powerhouse.

Defeat

Though the legislature's mandate from the 1967 election was not due to expire until May 1972, five years after it started, convention in Canadian politics is for legislatures to be dissolved every four years or less. Accordingly, Strom resolved to call an election in 1971, sometime between May and September. He briefly considered a spring campaign, in the hopes that the planting season would have farmers feeling optimistic and therefore inclined to support the incumbent government. However, after concluding that farmers would not react well to going to the polls in the middle of planting or harvest season, Strom finally settled on August 30.Barr 195 A campaign committee was assembled, and recommended a budget of $580,000.Barr 194 The party recruited star candidates, including Calgary alderman George Ho Lem and former Calgary Stampeder star Don Luzzi (Edmonton alderman and future mayor Cec Purves was defeated in his bid to win the Social Credit nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona from Strathcona Centre incumbent Joseph Donovan Ross), but was handicapped in these efforts by Strom's unwillingness to offer cabinet posts or other incentives to potential new candidates. Strom's lack of personal charisma was also a liability: tellingly, of the large budget recommended by the central committee, only $72,000 was recommended for use on television advertising, where Strom did not shine. The party tried to revitalize the Premier's image through publicity movies, though efforts were mixed. In one, which was pulled after a single showing, Strom appeared scowling in his living room, urging Albertans to lower their expectations of government. Another, produced by

Tommy Banks Thomas Benjamin Banks (December 17, 1936 – January 25, 2018) was a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and senator. Television and musical career Banks was the host of nationally - and internationally ...

and showing Strom in a variety of settings talking about the province's changing face, was more successful. The campaign did not give Social Credit partisans much reason for optimism. Strom did not draw the crowds that Progressive Conservative opposition leader

did, although an August 25 rally in Edmonton's Jubilee Auditorium featuring speeches by Strom and Manning was full.Barr 196-197 After criticizing the Conservatives' medicare platform, which promised free medicare to Albertans older than 65, as spendthrift, Strom announced Social Credit's barely cheaper alternative: medicare to Albertans older than 65 for one dollar per month. The Edmonton Journal, which had earlier published a poll showing that a plurality of Edmontonians intended to vote PC, endorsed Lougheed for Premier. Election night saw Social Credit defeated, taking 25 seats to the P.C.s' 49.Barr 198 Though Social Credit's share of the vote had only slipped slightly, Lougheed benefited from a substantial reduction in the

New Democrats 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 ...

' vote and a near-collapse of the Liberals'. The party was also decimated in the province's two largest cities, losing all of its seats in Edmonton and all but five in Calgary. Strom conceded defeat in Edmonton and returned home to

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in 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 to the northwest are with ...

Out of office and legacy

Strom continued as Social Credit leader, serving as leader of the opposition, until 1972, when he resigned and was replaced by Werner Schmidt. He continued in the legislature until the 1975 election, in which he did not seek re-election. After leaving politics, he returned to his farm and his involvement with his church. He died of cancer October 2, 1984, and was buried in

. In honour of his political services, Strom received honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

degrees from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

(1969), the

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = '' Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Wease ...

(1979), and the

(1980). While several of his acts as premier had consequences extending well beyond his term, today he is largely forgotten, though he experienced a brief resurgence in name recognition in 2007. That year, critics of

Ed Stelmach Edward Michael Stelmach (; born May 11, 1951) is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th premier of Alberta, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and fluently speaks ...

compared Stelmach to Strom, with the insinuation being that Stelmach was destined to lose the next election and be the last of the Progressive Conservative dynasty in the same way that Strom was the last of the Social Credit dynasty. In the end, it would not be until the 2015 provincial election under the leadership of

that the Progressive Conservatives would be defeated, with some pundits also comparing Prentice to Strom. Ruth Strom, his wife died in 2011.

Electoral record

As party leader

As MLA

{, class="wikitable" , colspan="3" align=center,

1971 Alberta general election The 1971 Alberta general election was the seventeenth general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on August 30, 1971, to elect seventy-five members of the Alberta Legislature to form the 17th Alberta Legislative Assembly. The Progre ...

results ( Cypress) , colspan="2", Turnout 78.8% , - , colspan="2" rowspan="1" align="left" valign="top" , Affiliation , valign="top" , Candidate , valign="top" , Votes , valign="top" align="right", % , - , colspan="3" align=center,

1967 Alberta general election The 1967 Alberta general election was held on May 23, 1967, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to the 16th Alberta Legislature. The election was called after the 15th Alberta Legislature was prorogued on April 11, 1967, and ...

results ( Cypress) , colspan="2", Turnout 60.5% , - , colspan="2" rowspan="1" align="left" valign="top" , Affiliation , valign="top" , Candidate , valign="top" , Votes , valign="top" align="right", % , - , colspan="3" align=center, 1963 Alberta general election results ( Cypress) , colspan="2", Turnout 65.9% , - , colspan="2" rowspan="1" align="left" valign="top" , Affiliation , valign="top" , Candidate , valign="top" , Votes , valign="top" align="right", % , - , colspan="3" align=center, 1959 Alberta general election results ( Cypress) , colspan="2", Turnout 70.8% , - , colspan="2" rowspan="1" align="left" valign="top" , Affiliation , valign="top" , Candidate , valign="top" , Votes , valign="top" align="right", % , - , colspan="3" align=center, 1955 Alberta general election results ( Cypress) , colspan="2", Turnout 71.7% , - , colspan="2" rowspan="1" align="left" valign="top" , Affiliation , valign="top" , Candidate , valign="top" , Votes , valign="top" align="right", %

Party leadership contests

{, class="wikitable" , - !colspan="3", 1968 Social Credit Party of Alberta leadership election , - !colspan="3" align="left", Second ballot , - ! Candidate ! Votes ! Percentage , - , Harry Strom , align="right", 915 , align="right", 54.9% , - , Gordon Taylor , align="right", 606 , align="right", 36.3% , - ,

Walt Buck Walter Alexander Buck (December 16, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was a provincial politician and dentist from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (MLA) from 1967 to 1989. During his time in office he served i ...

, align="right", 147 , align="right", 8.8% , - !colspan="3" align="left", First ballot , - ! Candidate ! Votes ! Percentage , - , Harry Strom , align="right", 814 , align="right", 47.6% , - , Gordon Taylor , align="right", 282 , align="right", 16.5% , - , Raymond Reierson , align="right", 255 , align="right", 14.9% , - ,

, align="right", 184 , align="right", 10.8% , - ,

Edgar Gerhart Edgar Henry Gerhart (December 18, 1923 – May 25, 1992) was a lawyer, judge and politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971 as a member of the Social Credit caucus in government. He ser ...

, align="right", 137 , align="right", 8.0% , - ,

Alfred Hooke Alfred John "Alf" Hooke (February 25, 1905 – February 17, 1992) was a teacher, politician and writer from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1971 as a member of the Social Credit Party. He held numer ...

, align="right", 38 , align="right", 2.2%

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strom, Harry 1914 births 1984 deaths Alberta municipal councillors Alberta Social Credit Party leaders Alberta Social Credit Party MLAs Canadian evangelicals Canadian people of Swedish descent Farmers from Alberta Members of the Executive Council of Alberta People from the County of Forty Mile No. 8 Premiers of Alberta 20th-century Canadian politicians