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Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Political Life

The paradox of Grant MacEwan is reflected in this 1966 view of him with two hats - one as lieutenant governor and the other as an agriculturist.

For 23 years Grant MacEwan served Canadian universities as a distinguished professor, researcher, and manager. Canadian politics-municipal, provincial and federal-would be his next challenge. MacEwan had his first taste of politics in the 1926 election assisting the Liberal Party in Melfort, Saskatchewan. An ambitious and intelligent man, MacEwan was offered a number of opportunities to run as a candidate in future elections. He turned the offers down.

In 1951, MacEwan tasted rare defeat when he lost a Federal by-election in Brandon, Manitoba. This was his first attempt at politics but would not be his last. In 1953, he was elected to Calgary City Council, a city he had recently moved to in order to concentrate on writing, and later served as Mayor of Calgary. For four years he sat as a Member of the Alberta Legislature. Grant MacEwan was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta in 1966.

Grant MacEwan had always maintained a keen interest in politics. He believed it was his responsibility to re-awaken political enthusiasm and thus create a more vibrant democracy. This section will explore MacEwan's contributions to politics at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His work, Poking Into Politics, provides readers with amusing anecdotes from his time in politics while demonstrating his concern for open democracy and political integrity


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