James Stewart Edwards (born August 31, 1936) is a former Canadian 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 ...

Early life

James Stewart Edwards was born on August 31, 1936, in

Edmonton, Alberta 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 Donald Stewart Edwards and Verna May Armstrong. Edwards attended 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 ...

attaining a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He married Sheila Mary Mooney on September 10, 1960, and had four children together. Edwards served as the Commissioner of the Alberta Human Rights Commissioner from 1979 to 1980.

Political career

He was first elected to 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 1984 general election as a Progressive Conservative (PC) from

. He served as a parliamentary secretary to several ministers in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

. Following Mulroney's resignation as PC leader and prime minister in 1993, Edwards was a candidate at the PC leadership convention held to choose a successor. He placed third. Edwards ran on a platform of cutting federal spending by $10 billion per year until the deficit and national debt were wiped out, reducing the size of Cabinet from 35 to 20, reviewing defence spending, freezing support to the European Bank for Renewal and Development, privatizing all

Crown Corporations Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

including

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

, and reducing international funding. He was appointed chief government

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

and President of the Treasury Board in the short-lived cabinet of Prime Minister

Kim Campbell Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician who was the 19th prime minister of Canada from June to November 1993. Campbell is the first and only female prime minister of Canada. Prior to becoming the f ...

. He lost his seat in that year's 1993 election that reduced the Tories to only two members of Parliament in the House.

Later life

Edwards was the president and CEO of Economic Development

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 ...

from 1998 to 2002 and served as the chair of the board of governors at the

from March 2002 to 2006. Edwards received an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the University of Alberta in 2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Jim 1936 births Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada University of Alberta alumni 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada