Allen Edison Stairs (December 22, 1924 – October 10, 2010) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Known by Edison, after graduating high school he attended the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

but interrupted his education during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to join the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. He served until after

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

in 1945 and following his discharge from the military settled in

Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the intersection of Int ...

where he established an insurance business. From a family active in community affairs, his great-uncle Ernest W. Stairs had been a member of the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

from 1935 to 1939. Edison Stairs was elected as the Progressive Conservative Party member for Carleton in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

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 Cove ...

, and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, sitting as a member of the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

. Reelected in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, his party formed the government led by Premier Richard Hatfield, and Stairs was immediately named to the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. He held several positions until 1976 when, as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

and Chairman of

NB Power New Brunswick Power Corporation (), operating as NB Power (), is the primary electric utility in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. NB Power is a Vertical integration, vertically-integrated Crown corpor ...

, he resigned from Cabinet to be with his terminally ill wife. Stairs remained a member of the Legislature until 1978 but retired from politics upon the passing of his wife.Obituary
/ref> His cousin,

Gerald Merrithew Gerald Stairs "Gerry" Merrithew (23 September 1931 – 5 September 2004), born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, was an educator, provincial and federal politician, and statesman. Merrithew graduated from the New Brunswick Teachers' Colle ...

, was elected both provincially (1972–1984) and federally (1984–1993).

References

External links

Government of New Brunswick, Department of Agriculture
(PDF file) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stairs, A. Edison 1924 births 2010 deaths Businesspeople from New Brunswick Canadian military personnel of World War II Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick MLAs Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick People from Carleton County, New Brunswick Ministers of finance of New Brunswick 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick