Ross Patterson Alger (August 20, 1920 – January 16, 1992) was a politician in the Canadian province of

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 ...

, who served as mayor of

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

from 1977 to 1980. Born in

Prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, he moved to Alberta with his family in 1930s. He received a bachelor of commerce degree from 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 ...

in 1942. He served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. After the war, he received an MBA from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He settled in

and started a career in accounting. In 1958, he was a public school board trustee, and later became the chairman. From 1971 to 1974, he was an alderman on

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

. In 1974, he ran for mayor losing to Rod Sykes. He was elected mayor in 1977 and served one term until 1980. During Alger's term, notable accomplishments include the construction of the

Ctrain CTrain (previously branded C-Train) is a light rail system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Much of the system functions as a high-capacity light metro, while in the downtown free-fare zone, trains run like a modern tram with a dedicated right-of ...

’s first leg, the bid for the XV Olympic Winter Games, and planning for the Olympic coliseum. His brother was Harry Alger. Alger died of cancer in 1992, which had first been diagnosed in 1985.Friends, foes laud ex-mayor: inal EditionHerald Staff. Calgary Herald algary, Alta17 January 1992: B1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alger, Ross 1920 births 1992 deaths Mayors of Calgary University of Alberta alumni University of Toronto alumni People from Rural Municipality Happyland No. 231, Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Alberta school board trustees 1988 Winter Olympics 20th-century mayors of places in Alberta