Donald MacBeth Kennedy (August 21, 1884 – September 25, 1957) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

farmer as well as a provincial and federal level Canadian politician representing Albertans. He was a UFA MLA 1921-1922 and a Progressive/UFA MP 1921–1935.

Biography

Kennedy was born in Scotland in 1884, and came to Canada in 1903. He spent time in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, and then returned to Scotland. Kennedy returned to Canada to farm in the Peace River area of Alberta, and homesteaded in 1911 in

Waterhole, Alberta Waterhole is an unincorporated locality in the Municipal District of Fairview No. 136, Alberta, Canada. Now a ghost town, Waterhole prospered during the early 1900s. History The location was known in the late 1800s as "The Waterhole", because pot ...

. In 1916, he married Mable M. Macdonald, and they had three daughters. Kennedy died in 1957.

Political career

Kennedy ran for 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 ...

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 ...

. He defeated Liberal incumbent William Rae in a landslide. Kennedy resigned his seat to provide a seat for Herbert Greenfield who had been named premier of the United Farmers government. Kennedy ran for a seat in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the

1921 Canadian federal election The 1921 Canadian federal election was held on December 6, 1921, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 14th Canadian Parliament, 14th Parliament of Canada. The Unionist Party (Canada), Union government that had governed Cana ...

held months later in the federal electoral district of Edmonton West as a candidate for the

Progressive Party of Canada The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the ...

; he defeated former Liberal Member of Parliament Frank Oliver and former Conservative MLA Robert Campbell to win his first term in office. Kennedy switched to the new Peace River district in the

1925 Canadian federal election The 1925 Canadian federal election was held on October 29, 1925, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 15th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative party took the most seats in the House of Commons, although not a majority. ...

. He ran against William Rae, whom he had previously defeated, and Conservative candidate James Arthur Collins. The race ended in a near three-way tie with Kennedy coming out on top; the spread between first and third was 42 votes. A year later he ran again in the 1926 Canadian federal election this time under the

banner. He defeated Mayor of Edmonton Joseph Clarke and James Arthur Collins again by a much larger margin than the election a year ago. Kennedy ran for a fourth term in the House of Commons in the

1930 Canadian federal election The 1930 Canadian federal election was held on July 28, 1930, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 17th Canadian Parliament, 17th Parliament of Canada. R. B. Bennett, Richard Bedford Bennett's Conservative ...

. He defeated Liberal candidate John Ewing Thompson by a comfortable margin. He was defeated in his bid for a fifth term in office in 1935, this time running under the Co-operative Commonwealth banner, finishing third among four candidates to

Social Credit Party of Canada The Social Credit Party of Canada (), colloquially known as the Socreds, was a populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the Canadian social credit movement. Origins ...

candidate René-Antoine Pelletier. In parliament, Kennedy joined the

Ginger Group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...

of radical MPs in the 1920s.

References

External links

*
Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Donald 1884 births 1957 deaths United Farmers of Alberta MLAs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Progressive Party of Canada MPs Ginger Group MPs Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs United Farmers of Alberta MPs 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta