George Harold Van Allen (June 22, 1890 – June 15, 1937) was a Canadian 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 ...

. 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 1935 to his death in 1937, sitting with the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

caucus in government.

Early life

George Harold Van Allen was born June 22, 1890, at Crysler's Farm in

Morrisburg, Ontario Morrisburg is an unincorporated community in the Municipality of South Dundas, located in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The population was 2,398 at the 2021 census. History On November 11, 1813, a small British force repelled an invading Americ ...

to Wilbur Van Allen and Florence Louise Hayunga, both Canadian ancestors of

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec and Governor General, governor ...

. Van Allen attended Morrisburg High School and was educated to become a teacher. He moved to

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

in 1912 to become a principal, and soon after relocated to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

to attend the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

where he completed his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

. Van Allen was admitted to the bar in 1915, formed his own practice in 1919 and was named

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1929. He married Ruby Thomer on December 23, 1926, and together had three sons and one daughter. Van Allen served as government counsel during the Royal Commission on Grain Freight Rates in 1923–1924, and as the President of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce in 1928-1929.

Political life

George Van Allen was elected to the

8th Alberta Legislature The 8th Alberta Legislative Assembly was in session from February 6, 1936, to February 16, 1940, with the membership of the assembly determined by the results of the 1935 Alberta general election held on August 22, 1935. The Legislature official ...

in the district of

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 ...

. Van Allen was one of six candidates elected for the district, which included two other Liberals in William R. Howson and

Gerald O'Connor Charles Gerald O'Connor (December 3, 1890 – November 16, 1949) was a provincial politician and judge from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1940, sitting with the Liberal caucus in gov ...

. As an MLA, Van Allen focused his attention on the state of the agricultural industry and was concerned with the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

economic policies. Van Allen contracted the flu in the autumn of 1936 that developed into pneumonia. He sought treatment in California and Minnesota until his death at the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

, part way through his term in office on June 15, 1937, at the age of 46.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Allen, George Alberta Liberal Party MLAs University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumni Politicians from Edmonton Canadian King's Counsel 1937 deaths 1890 births People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta