The Alberta Non-Partisan League was a minor provincial political party 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 ...

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 ...

. The League changed its name to the Non-Partisan Political League of Canada: Alberta Branch in 1917 as it prepared to move into federal politics. The party changed its name yet again to the Farmers Non-Partisan Political League. The League was formed to promote the active interest of farmers in the political arena, because it was felt that the Liberal and Conservative parties, federal and provincial, were not serving the interests of farmers. The Non-Partisan League conducted extensive meetings with interested farmers across rural Alberta and was

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

in inclination under the influence of William Irvine."Rise to power"
''Alberta Online Encyclopedia''. Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 12 September 2022. In the 1917 provincial election, four League members stood as candidates:

Louise McKinney Louise McKinney (; 22 September 186810 July 1931) was a Canadian politician, temperance advocate, and women's rights activist. She was the first woman elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first woman to serve in a legislatur ...

Claresholm Claresholm is a town located within southern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2, approximately northwest of the City of Lethbridge and south of the City of Calgary. One of the Famous Five involved in the Persons Case, Louise McKinne ...

, James Weir in Nanton, J.E. Hillier in

Pincher Creek Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indig ...

and

John W. Leedy John Whitnah Leedy (March 8, 1849 – March 24, 1935) was the 14th Governor of Kansas, serving 1896 to 1898. He later was active in politics in Alaska and Alberta, Canada. Personal life and family Leedy was born near Bellville, Ohio, in Rich ...

Gleichen Gleichen is the name of two groups of castles in Germany, thus named from their resemblance to each other (german: gleich like, or resembling). Castles in Thuringia between Gotha and Erfurt The first is a group of three (hence called “die dre ...

. As well, there were several affiliated independent and labour candidates (through the NPL co-sponsored Labor Representation League), such as

Lorne Proudfoot Lorne Proudfoot (October 8, 1880 – January 10, 1977) was a farmer, teacher and a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1935 sitting with the United Farmers caucus ...

. McKinney and Weir were elected and sat in the legislature, while Hillier finished third in a tight three-way race and Leedy placed third. In the months that followed, the party became active in federal politics. The decision was made at a 1917 convention in Calgary. The Non-Partisan Political League of Canada was founded. It nominated three candidates in the December 1917 federal election, all running in Alberta ridings. None were elected. The league continued organizational efforts for the next few years, gathering a sizeable campaign fund, holding townhalls and increasing its membership. The league's political activities and its two successes pushed 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 ...

to either enter electoral politics or face being eclipsed by the NPL. The UFA decided to launch a political arm and, in 1919, absorbed the NPL. The ground work and organization done by the league helped the UFA win a 1919 provincial by-election, a 1921 federal by-election, the 1921 provincial election, when it was elected government of the province, taking a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly, and an almost-clean sweep of Alberta seats in the 1921 Canadian federal election.

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Lorne Proudfoots correspondence with the non-partisan leaguenews paper clippings and party material relating to the Non-Partisan League Louise McKinney non-partisan MLA fonds
{{Authority control Provincial political parties in Alberta Political parties established in 1916 Political parties disestablished in 1919 Defunct political parties in Canada 1916 establishments in Alberta

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