Louis Davies Hyndman, (July 1, 1935 – November 24, 2013) was a

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lawyer and 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 for 19 years and was a member of Premier

Peter Lougheed Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth. ...

and

Don Getty Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian athlete, businessman, and politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. Before entering politics, Getty had been a quarterback for the Edmon ...

's Cabinets. Hyndman was named the 15th

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of 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 ...

on June 10, 1994. From 1993 through 1996, he was Honorary Captain of the 4th Destroyer Squadron,

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

Early life

Louis Davies Hyndman was born 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 ...

on July 1, 1935, to Louis Davis Hyndman Sr., Q.C. and Muriel MacKintosh. He was the grandson of James Hyndman CBE, an Edmonton

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and Supreme Court of Alberta Justice, as well as great-grandson of Sir Louis Henry Davies, former Premier of Prince Edward Island and

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada () is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court system. The '' Supreme Court Ac ...

. Hyndman attended the

where he completed 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 ...

and

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in 1959. He married Mary Evelyn Maclennan on June 2, 1962, and had three children together. Before entering politics he worked as a barrister and solicitor, Aide-de-camp to

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John Percy Page,

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in the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve, and executive assistant to

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Dick Bell. Hyndman formed a life-long friendship with Jim Edwards, who went on to serve as a Member of Parliament for Edmonton from 1984 to 1993.

Political career

Hyndman was an active member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and was set to participate in the 1959 party convention, however his work commitments required him to step away, Jim Edwards the alternate went in his place. In 1965, Hyndman first met

, who convinced Hyndman to run as a candidate for the provincial Progressive Conservative Party. Hyndman first ran for a seat in 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 ...

in the

1967 Alberta general election The 1967 Alberta general election was held on May 23, 1967, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to the 16th Alberta Legislature. The election was called after the 15th Alberta Legislature was prorogued on April 11, 1967, an ...

. He won a tight race in the electoral district of Edmonton West to pick it up for the Progressive Conservatives. Five other members of his party were elected that year. Together the six formed the official opposition. Due to redistribution in the 1971 general election, the electoral district of Edmonton West was abolished. Hyndman ran for re-election in the new electoral district of Edmonton-Glenora. He was re-elected to the legislature with a sizable majority. The Progressive Conservatives under the leadership of

formed government. Hyndman was appointed to the

Executive Council of Alberta The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typic ...

shortly after the election as Minister of Education. Running for re-election as a cabinet minister in the 1975 general election, Hyndman slightly increased his popular vote. He won his district with a landslide as the opposition vote collapsed. Hyndman defeated future Member of the Legislative Assembly Alex McEachern and two other candidates. Immediately following the election Hyndman was shuffled to become the Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs. He ran for his fourth term in office in the 1979 general election. Hyndman's popular vote waned slightly from the previous election. There was no significant strength in the opposition vote. He still won his district with a landslide majority. Lougheed appointed Hyndman as the new Provincial Treasurer following the election. In Hyndman's fifth election he reclaimed the votes he had lost in 1979. He won his final term in office in the 1982 general election easily defeating three other candidates. Hyndman held the Provincial Treasurer portfolio after

became Premier in 1985. Hyndman retired from the legislature at dissolution in 1986. During his 19-year career in the Alberta Legislature, Hyndman served as the Minister of Education, Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs, Government House Leader, and Provincial Treasurer.

Late life

After leaving provincial politics in 1986 Hyndman joined the board of directors for TransAlta Utilities. Hyndman also resumed his work as a lawyer with the firm now known as Field Law. He became chancellor of the

. He was awarded an honorary degree by the University on June 12, 2000. Hyndman died November 24, 2013, in Edmonton at the age of 78, after an illness.

Commissions

Hyndman chaired the: * Premier's Commission on Future Health Care for Albertans (1987–1989) * Royal Commission on a National Passenger System for Canada in the 21st Century (1989–1992) * Canadian Safety and Accident Board Review Commission (1993)

Louis D. Hyndman Sr. Lecture and Awards

Louis D. Hyndman Sr. Lecture and Awards, University of Alberta

Honors

* Queen's Counsel (1975) * Officer of the Order of Canada (1993)

Affiliations

* Alberta Association of Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities * Goodwill Rehabilitation Institute of Alberta * CD Howe Institute * Asia Pacific Foundation

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing

Profile at University of Alberta Research website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyndman, Lou 1935 births 2013 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Politicians from Edmonton Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs University of Alberta alumni Canadian King's Counsel Chancellors of the University of Alberta 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta