Walter Russell Shaw, (December 20, 1887 – May 29, 1981) was a politician from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. A native of West River, Shaw was educated at

Prince of Wales College Prince of Wales College (PWC) is a former university college, which was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. PWC merged with St. Dunstan's University in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island. PWC traces its hi ...

, the

Nova Scotia Agricultural College Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) was a publicly owned Canadian university college (founded 14 February 1905 and administered within the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture) located at Bible Hill, Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Agricultur ...

and 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 ...

. On his return to Prince Edward Island, he farmed for several years, becoming a noted livestock breeder. Shaw worked as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in the provincial department of agriculture from 1934 to 1954, rising to the position of deputy minister. He also helped found the PEI Federation of Agriculture serving as its first

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

. He entered politics in 1957 when he was chosen leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. He led the party to victory in the 1959 election becoming the 22nd

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

at the age of 71. The Shaw government supported the expansion of the province's food processing industry, instituted a regional system of

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s and revamped the employment system and pay scale for the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Despite its support for the farming industry, Shaw's government failed to reverse the decline in the number of family farms and was unable to successfully diversify the economy. His government was defeated by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in 1966. Shaw stepped down as party leader in 1968, and was succeeded by George Key, although as Key was not a sitting member of the legislature Shaw continued to serve as

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

until 1970, when he retired at the age of 82. In 1971, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Shaw was inducted into the

Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame () honors and celebrates Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the agriculture and food industry and publicizes the importance of their achievements throughout Canada. Inaugurated in 1960 and ...

in 1980.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Walter 1887 births 1981 deaths Politicians from Queens County, Prince Edward Island Premiers of Prince Edward Island Officers of the Order of Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island MLAs Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island leaders Prince of Wales College alumni Nova Scotia Agricultural College alumni University of Toronto alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island