Lorne Proudfoot (October 8, 1880 – January 10, 1977) was a farmer, teacher and a provincial politician from

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada. He served as a member of 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. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

from 1921 to 1935 sitting with the United Farmers caucus in government.

Early life

Lorne Proudfoot was born in 1880 on a farm outside of

Vankleek Hill Vankleek Hill is a town in Champlain Township in Eastern Ontario. It has a population of 1,996. The town was named after Simeon Vankleek, a United Empire Loyalist who settled there near the end of the 18th century. The agricultural-based commun ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He came out west in 1903, and attended normal school in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He later moved to Alberta and began his teaching career at a rural school near the towns of Carstairs and Didsbury. He moved to

Chinook Chinook may refer to: Chinook peoples The name derives from a settlement of Indigenous people in Oregon and Washington State. * Chinookan peoples, several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest ** Chinook Indian Nation, an organiza ...

in 1909 and began farming. He married his wife Hilda Mary Roberts in 1917.

Political career

Proudfoot ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature as an Independent candidate in the

1917 Alberta general election The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of World War I, eleven Me ...

in the electoral district of Acadia. The group Proudfoot was a part of what was known formally as the Independent Political Association, Constituency of Acadia was affiliated with the

Alberta Non-Partisan League The Alberta Non-Partisan League was a minor provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. The League changed its name in 1917 to the Non-Partisan Political League of Canada: Alberta Branch as it prepared to move into federal politics, and then cha ...

. He finished a distant third place losing to incumbent John McColl. Proudfoot ran for his second time in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. The Liberal government is replaced by the United Farmers of Alberta. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed gov ...

as a candidate for the United Farmers of Alberta. He won the two-person race with a landslide majority to pick up the district for his party. Proudfoot ran for a second term in office in the

1926 Alberta general election The 1926 Alberta general election was held on June 28, 1926, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta government that had first been elected in 1921 was re-elected, taking a majority of the seats in ...

. He faced two other candidates. Despite losing a large portion of his popular vote from 1921 he still won the district with a solid majority. Proudfoot ran for his third term in office in the

1930 Alberta general election The 1930 Alberta general election was held on June 19, 1930, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta won election to a third term in government, and John E. Brownlee continued as premier. This pro ...

. He won the two way race easily over an Independent candidate. Proudfoot ran for his fourth term in office 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 Farme ...

. He was defeated in the three way race finishing a distant second losing to Social Credit candidate Norman James.

Late life

After his defeat from office Proudfoot continued to farm, specializing in raising sheep. Like many of his neighbors in the arid southeastern Alberta region, he came close to bankruptcy during the 1930s. He eventually expanded his farming operation to 18,000 acres by the time of his retirement in 1962. He also continued to have active political involvement. He continued to work in organizations to elect independent candidates in 1940, 1944, and 1963. Though no candidates were successful, the Independent Electors of the Acadia-Coronation Constituency almost managed to get former Speaker of the Legislature George Johnston re-elected in the 1940 general election. Proudfoot served on numerous local municipal boards, usually related to education and agriculture. He was always an advocate of the "principles of cooperation" and worked hard to maintain the economic viability of the small village of Chinook. His experiences in politics gave him greater knowledge of legal and financial matters than most of his neighbors. He served as secretary-treasurer of the Chinook Consolidated School District during the entire period of its existence, 1916-1961. He was secretary-treasurer of the Village of Chinook from 1943 to 1968. He died in 1977.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proudfoot, Lorne 1880 births 1977 deaths United Farmers of Alberta MLAs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta