Harry Strom
Encyclopedia
Harry Edwin Strom was the ninth Premier of Alberta
, Canada
, from 1968 to 1971. His two and a half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six year Social Credit
dynasty, as his defeat by Peter Lougheed
saw its replacement by a new era Progressive Conservative
government. He is remembered as an honest, decent man who lacked the political skills of his predecessor, Ernest Manning
, or of Lougheed.
Alberta's first native-born Premier, Strom was born in Burdett, Alberta
. He worked most of his young adult life on the family farm, and was also actively involved in his church. After a stint in municipal politics, he ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
in the 1955 provincial election
, and was elected. In 1962, Manning appointed him to his cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, a position he held until 1967 when he was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs. When Manning decided to resign in 1968, Strom became a candidate to succeed him, and finished on top of a six candidate field.
As Premier, Strom undertook a number of initiatives, especially in education and youth-related fields, but was politically ineffective. He lacked both charisma and an overriding sense of purpose, and his government gradually lost popularity. In the 1971 election
, his government was handily defeated by Lougheed's Conservatives. Strom served as opposition leader for two years, but soon relinquished the position and did not seek re-election in 1975
. After leaving politics, Strom returned to farming. He died in 1984.
to attend high school at East Calgary High School and Calgary Technical High School, where he studied mechanics. In 1931, he received a certificate from the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art. His father died the same year, and Strom returned home to help his mother with the operation of the family farm.
On October 27, 1938, Strom married Ruth Johnson, with whom he would have six children—Howard, Faith, Beverly, Brian, Ronald, and Arlene. The family attended the Evangelical Free Church of Canada
in Bow Island until 1962. There, Strom served as Sunday school
teacher, deacon
, and board chair, in addition to his twenty years of involvement with the church's Overseas Missions Board. Besides his activities with the church, Strom was involved in the Forty Mile
Rural Electrification Association, the Burdett Home and School Association, and the Agricultural Improvement Association of Burdett.
. He served on local school boards at around the same time.
, Strom ran as the Social Credit
candidate in Cypress
, where the incumbent, Social Crediter James Underdahl, was not seeking re-election. He easily defeated his only opponent, Liberal
Joe Flaig, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
. He would be re-elected to this seat in each of the 1959
, 1963
, 1967
, and 1971
elections, always winning more than 60% of the vote.
In October 1962, Premier Ernest Manning
appointed Strom Minister of Agriculture. In this capacity, he undertook a series of initiatives related to water use, including developing an agreement with Saskatchewan
and Manitoba
of the use of water emanating from the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains
. He also passed a series of legislation, including the Soil Conservation Act and Crop Insurance Act, and undertook a major departmental organization. The Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame, which inducted Strom in 1985, credited him with expanding the use of irrigation
in the province and for being a key figure leading up to the signing of a 1973 cost-sharing agreement on the subject with the federal government
. He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs for the last five months of the Manning government.
, Industry Minister Russ Patrick, Education Minister Randy McKinnon. Aalborg was the natural choice to succeed Manning, but he had health problems and declined to run. Strom had no desire for the job and rejected any suggestion from the others that he be a candidate.
This rejection was not to last: a group of influential young Social Crediters, including the Premier's son Preston
, started a movement to draft Strom. They settled on him because he was personally popular among party members and because he had displayed an openness to new ideas in the past. Strom accepted their overtures, but as late as a week before he announced his candidacy he was still offering to step aside in favour of another candidate of the young Turks' choice.
Strom's campaign theme was "the social development of Alberta", and this general theme encompassed such diverse policy planks as a citizens' committee on constitutional reform, a head start program for disadvantaged youth, commissions on the future of urban planning and education, an expansion of the role of backbenchers in policy development, and the opening of a branch of the Premier's office in Calgary. Though he entered as the favourite, a poll in spring 1969 showed him running second of five candidates behind Minister of Transportation Gordon Taylor
. However, he had the strongest organization of any candidate, thanks in large part to his young backers, and overcame this deficit by the fall.
At the convention, Strom won a large plurality on the first ballot, finishing with nearly three times of the votes of the second place Taylor. Though the third place Raymond Reierson
threw his support to the Transportation Minister before the second ballot, the results on this were decisive: Strom gained the support of more than a hundred new delegates and won a clear majority.
, when his government was defeated by Peter Lougheed
's Progressive Conservatives
. This tenure makes him the second shortest-serving former Premier in Alberta's history, after Richard G. Reid.
program. In response to increasing use of illicit drugs by Alberta youth, his government, led by Education Minister Bob Clark
, inserted anti-narcotics messages into the province's school curriculum. Strom implemented trial kindergarten
programs in Edmonton
and Calgary—the Calgary program, provided jointly by an inner-city community association and the Mount Royal College
, has been called one of Canada's first public-private partnerships. His interest in educational matters was perhaps best exemplified by his government's Commission on Educational Planning, which travelled the province to solicit Albertans' views and whose final report, A Choice of Futures, was credited by Barr as setting "the tone and direction for education in Alberta for the next generation". The Strom government also made substantial reforms to Alberta's post-secondary education system, expanding distance learning through the creation of Athabasca University
and laying the foundation's for ACCESS television
, and effectively creating the province's College (as distinct from University) system. This latter move led to the creation of Grant MacEwan College
.
Strom also took a number of non-educational policy initiative, such as naming Jim Henderson as the province's first Environment Minister. Other priorities were the reform of the Premier's Office and the establishment of an Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat, converted by Peter Lougheed
's government into a full ministry under Don Getty
. In 1970, the government established the Alberta Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Commission.
Strom was not an effective speaker, and often wouldn't look at the text of his speeches until he was delivering them. Realizing this, Hamilton once handed him a folder with nothing but a paper reading "Sock it to 'em, Harry" before the Premier was to give a speech at the University of Alberta
. The Premier opened the folder and, as he became visibly alarmed, gratefully received the real speech when an aide brought it to him.
Strom also resisted calling an early election to give his government a fresh mandate, despite Hamilton's impassioned advocacy for this course of action. He was no more positive towards Anderson's proposals for a radical overhaul of the party, including the computerization of political data (such as voting trends, demographic shifts, and polling results) and the purchase of an office building to make the party a profit and free it from the need for fundraising. The ideas that Strom did not reject outright were referred to committees and study groups where they were watered down or shelved.
Despite these failings, Strom was recognized as possessing a number of virtues: he was kind, considerate, and honest. Most of all, he was humble: he had not sought the party leadership, and notoriously asked after being repeatedly addressed as "Premier" at his first cabinet meeting why it couldn't "just be plain 'Harry' anymore". When travelling to Ottawa
, he stayed at the un-posh Skyline Hotel and ate meals in its basement cafeteria, where he ordered bread and pea soup
for $0.25. On final analysis, Barr concludes that this temperament, commendable though it may be, was unsuited to running the government of an emerging economic powerhouse.
was not due to expire until May 1972, five years after it started, convention in Canadian politics is for legislatures to be dissolved every four years or less. Accordingly, Strom resolved to call an election in 1971, sometime between May and September. After considering the spring, in the hopes that the planting season would have farmers feeling optimistic and therefore inclines to support the incumbent government, Strom finally settled on August 30 (partly out of concerns that farmers would resent an election called in the middle of the planting or harvest seasons). A campaign committee was assembled, and recommended a budget of $580,000.
The party recruited star candidates, including Calgary alderman George Ho Lem
and former Calgary Stampeder
star Don Luzzi
(Edmonton alderman and future mayor Cec Purves
was defeated in his bid to win the Social Credit nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona from Strathcona Centre
incumbent Joseph Donovan Ross
), but was handicapped in these efforts by Strom's unwillingness to offer cabinet posts or other incentives to potential new candidates. Strom's lack of personal charisma was also a liability: tellingly, of the large budget recommended by the central committee, only $72,000 was recommended for use on television advertising, where Strom did not shine. The party tried to revitalize the Premier's image through publicity movies, though efforts were mixed. In one, which was pulled after a single showing, Strom appeared scowling in his living room, urging Albertans to lower their expectations of government. Another, produced by Tommy Banks
and showing Strom in a variety of settings talking about the province's changing face, was more successful.
The campaign did not give Social Credit partisans much reason for optimism. Strom did not draw the crowds that Progressive Conservative
Peter Lougheed
did, although an August 25 rally in Edmonton's Jubilee Auditorium featuring speeches by Strom and Manning was full. After criticizing the Conservatives' medicare
platform, which promised free medicare to Albertans older than 65, as spendthrift, Strom announced Social Credit's barely cheaper alternative: medicare to Albertans older than 65 for one dollar per month. The Edmonton Journal
, which had earlier published a poll showing that a plurality of Edmontonians intended to vote P.C., endorsed Lougheed for Premier. Election night saw Social Credit defeated, taking 25 seats to the P.C.s' 49. Though Social Credit's share of the vote had only slipped slightly, Lougheed benefited from a substantial reduction in the New Democrats
' vote and a near-collapse of the Liberals
'. Strom conceded defeat in Edmonton and flew home to Medicine Hat.
. He continued in the legislature until the 1975 election
, in which he did not seek re-election. After leaving politics, he returned to his farm and his involvement with his church. He died of cancer October 2, 1984, and was buried in Medicine Hat.
In honour of his political services, Strom received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Calgary
(1969), the University of Lethbridge
(1979), and the University of Alberta
(1980). While several of his acts as premier had consequences extending well beyond his term, today he is largely forgotten, though he experienced a brief resurgence in name recognition in 2007. That year, critics of Ed Stelmach
compared Stelmach to Strom, with the insinuation being that Stelmach was destined to lose the next election and be the last of the Progressive Conservative dynasty in the same way that Strom was the last of the Social Credit dynasty.
Premier of Alberta
The Premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. The current Premier of Alberta is Alison Redford. She became Premier by winning the Progressive Conservative leadership elections on...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, from 1968 to 1971. His two and a half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six year Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Alberta
The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values....
dynasty, as his defeat by Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
saw its replacement by a new era Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
government. He is remembered as an honest, decent man who lacked the political skills of his predecessor, Ernest Manning
Ernest Manning
Ernest Charles Manning, , a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any premier in the province's history, and was the second longest serving provincial premier in Canadian history...
, or of Lougheed.
Alberta's first native-born Premier, Strom was born in Burdett, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. He worked most of his young adult life on the family farm, and was also actively involved in his church. After a stint in municipal politics, he ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
in the 1955 provincial election
Alberta general election, 1955
The Alberta general election of 1955 was the thirteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 29, 1955 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, and was elected. In 1962, Manning appointed him to his cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, a position he held until 1967 when he was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs. When Manning decided to resign in 1968, Strom became a candidate to succeed him, and finished on top of a six candidate field.
As Premier, Strom undertook a number of initiatives, especially in education and youth-related fields, but was politically ineffective. He lacked both charisma and an overriding sense of purpose, and his government gradually lost popularity. In the 1971 election
Alberta general election, 1971
The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, his government was handily defeated by Lougheed's Conservatives. Strom served as opposition leader for two years, but soon relinquished the position and did not seek re-election in 1975
Alberta general election, 1975
The Alberta general election of 1975 was the eighteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 25, 1975 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. After leaving politics, Strom returned to farming. He died in 1984.
Early life
Strom was born in Burdett, Alberta, on July 7, 1914. His parents, Nils Hjalmar Strom (1877–1928) and Elna Maria Olivia Ekensteen (1883–1969), were second generation Swedish Canadians. He attended school in Burdett before moving to CalgaryCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
to attend high school at East Calgary High School and Calgary Technical High School, where he studied mechanics. In 1931, he received a certificate from the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art. His father died the same year, and Strom returned home to help his mother with the operation of the family farm.
On October 27, 1938, Strom married Ruth Johnson, with whom he would have six children—Howard, Faith, Beverly, Brian, Ronald, and Arlene. The family attended the Evangelical Free Church of Canada
Evangelical Free Church of Canada
The Evangelical Free Church of Canada is an association of autonomous and interdependent evangelical Christian congregations in Canada. Its home office is located in Langley, British Columbia, on the campus of Trinity Western University...
in Bow Island until 1962. There, Strom served as Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
teacher, deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, and board chair, in addition to his twenty years of involvement with the church's Overseas Missions Board. Besides his activities with the church, Strom was involved in the Forty Mile
Forty Mile County No. 8, Alberta
The County of Forty Mile No. 8 is a municipal district in south eastern Alberta, Canada.It is located in Census Division 1, east of Medicine Hat. The municipal seat is in Foremost.-Demographics:...
Rural Electrification Association, the Burdett Home and School Association, and the Agricultural Improvement Association of Burdett.
Entry into politics
In 1943, Harry Strom was elected to the council of Forty Mile County No. 8, AlbertaForty Mile County No. 8, Alberta
The County of Forty Mile No. 8 is a municipal district in south eastern Alberta, Canada.It is located in Census Division 1, east of Medicine Hat. The municipal seat is in Foremost.-Demographics:...
. He served on local school boards at around the same time.
MLA and cabinet minister
In the 1955 provincial electionAlberta general election, 1955
The Alberta general election of 1955 was the thirteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 29, 1955 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, Strom ran as the Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Alberta
The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values....
candidate in Cypress
Cypress (provincial electoral district)
-1944 general election:-1957 liquor plebiscite:On October 30, 1957 a stand alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive...
, where the incumbent, Social Crediter James Underdahl, was not seeking re-election. He easily defeated his only opponent, Liberal
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...
Joe Flaig, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
. He would be re-elected to this seat in each of the 1959
Alberta general election, 1959
The Alberta general election of 1959 was the fourteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 18, 1959 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Ernest C...
, 1963
Alberta general election, 1963
The Alberta general election of 1963 was the fifteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 17, 1963 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.The Social Credit Party, led by Ernest C...
, 1967
Alberta general election, 1967
The Alberta general election of 1967 was the sixteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 23, 1967 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, and 1971
Alberta general election, 1971
The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
elections, always winning more than 60% of the vote.
In October 1962, Premier Ernest Manning
Ernest Manning
Ernest Charles Manning, , a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any premier in the province's history, and was the second longest serving provincial premier in Canadian history...
appointed Strom Minister of Agriculture. In this capacity, he undertook a series of initiatives related to water use, including developing an agreement with Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
of the use of water emanating from the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. He also passed a series of legislation, including the Soil Conservation Act and Crop Insurance Act, and undertook a major departmental organization. The Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame, which inducted Strom in 1985, credited him with expanding the use of irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
in the province and for being a key figure leading up to the signing of a 1973 cost-sharing agreement on the subject with the federal government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
. He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs for the last five months of the Manning government.
Leadership election
When Manning decided to retire in 1968, he called a key group of senior ministers to his office to advise them of his decision. This group includes Strom, Treasurer Anders AalborgAnders Aalborg
Anders Olav Aalborg was a teacher and a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1948 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government...
, Industry Minister Russ Patrick, Education Minister Randy McKinnon. Aalborg was the natural choice to succeed Manning, but he had health problems and declined to run. Strom had no desire for the job and rejected any suggestion from the others that he be a candidate.
This rejection was not to last: a group of influential young Social Crediters, including the Premier's son Preston
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
, started a movement to draft Strom. They settled on him because he was personally popular among party members and because he had displayed an openness to new ideas in the past. Strom accepted their overtures, but as late as a week before he announced his candidacy he was still offering to step aside in favour of another candidate of the young Turks' choice.
Strom's campaign theme was "the social development of Alberta", and this general theme encompassed such diverse policy planks as a citizens' committee on constitutional reform, a head start program for disadvantaged youth, commissions on the future of urban planning and education, an expansion of the role of backbenchers in policy development, and the opening of a branch of the Premier's office in Calgary. Though he entered as the favourite, a poll in spring 1969 showed him running second of five candidates behind Minister of Transportation Gordon Taylor
Gordon Taylor
Gordon Edward Taylor was a Canadian politician, businessman and teacher.-Provincial political career:He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1940 provincial election representing Drumheller for Social Credit and continued to sit in the legislature for 39 years...
. However, he had the strongest organization of any candidate, thanks in large part to his young backers, and overcame this deficit by the fall.
At the convention, Strom won a large plurality on the first ballot, finishing with nearly three times of the votes of the second place Taylor. Though the third place Raymond Reierson
Raymond Reierson
Raymond Reierson is a former provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government...
threw his support to the Transportation Minister before the second ballot, the results on this were decisive: Strom gained the support of more than a hundred new delegates and won a clear majority.
Premier
Harry Strom became Premier December 12, 1968 and served until the 1971 electionAlberta general election, 1971
The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, when his government was defeated by Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
's Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
. This tenure makes him the second shortest-serving former Premier in Alberta's history, after Richard G. Reid.
Policy initiatives
Many of Strom's policy initiatives revolved around education and youth. He created the Alberta Service Corps, which allowed young Albertans to work summers on public services and environmental projects for remuneration, and which was one of several models for the federal government's later KatimavikKatimavik
-Overview:Each Katimavik program consists of groups of 11 youths aged 17 to 21 who are drawn from all across Canada. They travel together to one or two different places in Canada for a period of six months. During the 2007-2008 program year there were 99 such groups spread across Canada...
program. In response to increasing use of illicit drugs by Alberta youth, his government, led by Education Minister Bob Clark
Robert Curtis Clark
Robert "Bob" Curtis Clark is a former teacher, civil servant and provincial level politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1960 to 1981. During his career he served as Leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party and Leader of the Official Opposition...
, inserted anti-narcotics messages into the province's school curriculum. Strom implemented trial kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
programs in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
and Calgary—the Calgary program, provided jointly by an inner-city community association and the Mount Royal College
Mount Royal College
Mount Royal University is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1910 as a primary and secondary school, Mount Royal became a post-secondary institution in 1931 as Mount Royal College offering transfer courses to the University of Alberta and later to the University of Calgary...
, has been called one of Canada's first public-private partnerships. His interest in educational matters was perhaps best exemplified by his government's Commission on Educational Planning, which travelled the province to solicit Albertans' views and whose final report, A Choice of Futures, was credited by Barr as setting "the tone and direction for education in Alberta for the next generation". The Strom government also made substantial reforms to Alberta's post-secondary education system, expanding distance learning through the creation of Athabasca University
Athabasca University
Athabasca University is a Canadian university in Athabasca, Alberta. It is an accredited research institution which also offers distance education courses and programs. Courses are offered primarily in English with some French offerings. Each year, 32,000 students attend the university. It offers...
and laying the foundation's for ACCESS television
Access (TV channel)
CTV Two Alberta is a Canadian English language entertainment, information, and educational television channel in the province of Alberta...
, and effectively creating the province's College (as distinct from University) system. This latter move led to the creation of Grant MacEwan College
Grant MacEwan College
Grant MacEwan University is a post-secondary educational institution located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1971 as "Grant MacEwan Community College,” the institution got its start by offering primarily one and two-year certificate and diploma programs. In 1988 it received approval to...
.
Strom also took a number of non-educational policy initiative, such as naming Jim Henderson as the province's first Environment Minister. Other priorities were the reform of the Premier's Office and the establishment of an Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat, converted by Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
's government into a full ministry under Don Getty
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty, OC, AOE is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 11th Premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before...
. In 1970, the government established the Alberta Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Commission.
Leadership style
Strom resisted leadership and saw himself as a conciliator, charged with maintaining unity among his cabinet and caucus. Soon after becoming Premier, Strom chief of staff Don Hamilton and strategist Owen Anderson scheduled strategy meetings with agendas drawn from Strom's leadership platform. The meetings did not lead to action, and some began to grumble that "talking about decisions was a form of action". According to Barr, Hamilton eventually started using the same agenda every week, with only the date changed, and Strom did not notice.Strom was not an effective speaker, and often wouldn't look at the text of his speeches until he was delivering them. Realizing this, Hamilton once handed him a folder with nothing but a paper reading "Sock it to 'em, Harry" before the Premier was to give a speech at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. The Premier opened the folder and, as he became visibly alarmed, gratefully received the real speech when an aide brought it to him.
Strom also resisted calling an early election to give his government a fresh mandate, despite Hamilton's impassioned advocacy for this course of action. He was no more positive towards Anderson's proposals for a radical overhaul of the party, including the computerization of political data (such as voting trends, demographic shifts, and polling results) and the purchase of an office building to make the party a profit and free it from the need for fundraising. The ideas that Strom did not reject outright were referred to committees and study groups where they were watered down or shelved.
Despite these failings, Strom was recognized as possessing a number of virtues: he was kind, considerate, and honest. Most of all, he was humble: he had not sought the party leadership, and notoriously asked after being repeatedly addressed as "Premier" at his first cabinet meeting why it couldn't "just be plain 'Harry' anymore". When travelling to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, he stayed at the un-posh Skyline Hotel and ate meals in its basement cafeteria, where he ordered bread and pea soup
Pea soup
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made, typically, from dried peas. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.Pea soup has been eaten since antiquity; it...
for $0.25. On final analysis, Barr concludes that this temperament, commendable though it may be, was unsuited to running the government of an emerging economic powerhouse.
Defeat
Though the legislature's mandate from the 1967 electionAlberta general election, 1967
The Alberta general election of 1967 was the sixteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 23, 1967 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
was not due to expire until May 1972, five years after it started, convention in Canadian politics is for legislatures to be dissolved every four years or less. Accordingly, Strom resolved to call an election in 1971, sometime between May and September. After considering the spring, in the hopes that the planting season would have farmers feeling optimistic and therefore inclines to support the incumbent government, Strom finally settled on August 30 (partly out of concerns that farmers would resent an election called in the middle of the planting or harvest seasons). A campaign committee was assembled, and recommended a budget of $580,000.
The party recruited star candidates, including Calgary alderman George Ho Lem
George Ho Lem
George Ho Lem Sr. was a politician, business man and community leader from Alberta, Canada. To most people he is known as a great man serving many years as a Calgary Alderman but to those people who are part of the inner Chinatown Circle know him as "The Traitor of the Chinese".- Early life...
and former Calgary Stampeder
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
star Don Luzzi
Don Luzzi
Don Luzzi was a politician and professional football player who played in the Canadian Football League.-CFL career:...
(Edmonton alderman and future mayor Cec Purves
Cec Purves
Cecil John Harry Purves is a politician in Alberta, Canada, who served as mayor of Edmonton.-Early life:Purves was born in Edmonton on October 18, 1933. He grew up in the city's Riverdale district and graduated high school in the city...
was defeated in his bid to win the Social Credit nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona from Strathcona Centre
Strathcona Centre
Strathcona Centre was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, CanadaIt was created in 1959 after the Edmonton district, broke up into ridings....
incumbent Joseph Donovan Ross
Joseph Donovan Ross
Joseph Donovan Ross was a medical doctor and a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971. He also served as Minister of Health in the Alberta provincial government.-Political career:Ross first ran for...
), but was handicapped in these efforts by Strom's unwillingness to offer cabinet posts or other incentives to potential new candidates. Strom's lack of personal charisma was also a liability: tellingly, of the large budget recommended by the central committee, only $72,000 was recommended for use on television advertising, where Strom did not shine. The party tried to revitalize the Premier's image through publicity movies, though efforts were mixed. In one, which was pulled after a single showing, Strom appeared scowling in his living room, urging Albertans to lower their expectations of government. Another, produced by Tommy Banks
Tommy Banks
Thomas Benjamin "Tommy" Banks, OC, AOE is a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and Senator....
and showing Strom in a variety of settings talking about the province's changing face, was more successful.
The campaign did not give Social Credit partisans much reason for optimism. Strom did not draw the crowds that Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
did, although an August 25 rally in Edmonton's Jubilee Auditorium featuring speeches by Strom and Manning was full. After criticizing the Conservatives' medicare
Medicare (Canada)
Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...
platform, which promised free medicare to Albertans older than 65, as spendthrift, Strom announced Social Credit's barely cheaper alternative: medicare to Albertans older than 65 for one dollar per month. The Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Journal
The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...
, which had earlier published a poll showing that a plurality of Edmontonians intended to vote P.C., endorsed Lougheed for Premier. Election night saw Social Credit defeated, taking 25 seats to the P.C.s' 49. Though Social Credit's share of the vote had only slipped slightly, Lougheed benefited from a substantial reduction in the New Democrats
Alberta New Democratic Party
The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
' vote and a near-collapse of the Liberals
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...
'. Strom conceded defeat in Edmonton and flew home to Medicine Hat.
Out of office and legacy
Strom continued as Social Credit leader, serving as leader of the opposition, until 1972, when he resigned and was replaced by Werner SchmidtWerner Schmidt
Werner Schmidt is a former Canadian politician. A teacher and school principal.-Political career:Schmidt was vice-president of Lethbridge Community College when he was chosen to succeed Harry Strom as leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party following the defeat of Strom's government in 1971...
. He continued in the legislature until the 1975 election
Alberta general election, 1975
The Alberta general election of 1975 was the eighteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 25, 1975 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
, in which he did not seek re-election. After leaving politics, he returned to his farm and his involvement with his church. He died of cancer October 2, 1984, and was buried in Medicine Hat.
In honour of his political services, Strom received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
(1969), the University of Lethbridge
University of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
(1979), and the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
(1980). While several of his acts as premier had consequences extending well beyond his term, today he is largely forgotten, though he experienced a brief resurgence in name recognition in 2007. That year, critics of Ed Stelmach
Ed Stelmach
Edward Michael "Ed" Stelmach, MLA is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and speaks fluent Ukrainian. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a...
compared Stelmach to Strom, with the insinuation being that Stelmach was destined to lose the next election and be the last of the Progressive Conservative dynasty in the same way that Strom was the last of the Social Credit dynasty.
As party leader
| 1971 Alberta provincial election Alberta general election, 1971 The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Party leader | # of candidates |
Seats | Popular vote | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967 Alberta general election, 1967 The Alberta general election of 1967 was the sixteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 23, 1967 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... |
1971 Alberta general election, 1971 The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... |
% Change | # | % | % Change |
Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta... |
Peter Lougheed Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985.... |
75 | 6 | 49 | +717% | 296,934 | 46.40% | +20.40% |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
|
75 | 55 | 25 | -54.5% | 262,953 | 41.10% | -3.5% |
New Democrats Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
Grant Notley Walter Grant Notley was a provincial politician in Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1971 to 1984 and also served as leader of the Alberta NDP from 1968 to 1984.... |
70 | - | 1 | 73,038 | 11.42% | -4.56% |
Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
Bob Russell (Canadian politician) Bob Russell is a politician in Alberta, a former leader of the Liberal Party of Alberta, and a former municipal councillor in St. Albert, Alberta.... |
20 | 3 | - | -100% | 6,475 | 1.01% | -9.80% |
Independent | 3 | 1 | - | -100% | 462 | 0.07% | -1.31% | ||
| Total | 243 | 65 | 75 | +15.4% | 639,862 | 100% | |
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As MLA
| 1971 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1971 The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results (Cypress Cypress (provincial electoral district) -1944 general election:-1957 liquor plebiscite:On October 30, 1957 a stand alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 78.8% | |||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
Harry Strom | 2,777 | 60.3% |
Progressive Conservative | Dave Berntson | 1,635 | 35.5% |
NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
Tony de Souza | 196 | 4.3% | |
| 1967 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1967 The Alberta general election of 1967 was the sixteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 23, 1967 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results (Cypress Cypress (provincial electoral district) -1944 general election:-1957 liquor plebiscite:On October 30, 1957 a stand alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 60.5% | |||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
Harry Strom | 2,577 | 77.0% |
NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
William McFall | 769 | 23.0% | |||||
| 1963 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1963 The Alberta general election of 1963 was the fifteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 17, 1963 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.The Social Credit Party, led by Ernest C... results (Cypress Cypress (provincial electoral district) -1944 general election:-1957 liquor plebiscite:On October 30, 1957 a stand alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 65.9% | |||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
Harry Strom | 3,030 | 77.9% |
Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
Alvin Reiman | 861 | 22.1% | |||||
| 1959 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1959 The Alberta general election of 1959 was the fourteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 18, 1959 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Ernest C... results (Cypress Cypress (provincial electoral district) -1944 general election:-1957 liquor plebiscite:On October 30, 1957 a stand alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 70.8% | |||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
Harry Strom | 3,199 | 79.4% |
Progressive Conservative | Wayne Anderson | 831 | 20.6% | |||||
| 1955 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1955 The Alberta general election of 1955 was the thirteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 29, 1955 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results (Cypress Cypress (provincial electoral district) -1944 general election:-1957 liquor plebiscite:On October 30, 1957 a stand alone plebiscite was held province wide in all 50 of the then current provincial electoral districts in Alberta. The government decided to consult Alberta voters to decide on liquor sales and mixed drinking after a divisive... ) |
font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 71.7% | |||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
Harry Strom | 2,668 | 68.9% |
Liberal Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time... |
Joe Flaig | 1,205 | 31.1% | |||||
Party leadership contests
| Social Credit Party of Alberta leadership election, 1968 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Second ballot | ||
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| Harry Strom | 915 | 54.9% |
| Gordon Taylor Gordon Taylor Gordon Edward Taylor was a Canadian politician, businessman and teacher.-Provincial political career:He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1940 provincial election representing Drumheller for Social Credit and continued to sit in the legislature for 39 years... |
606 | 36.3% |
| Walt Buck Walt Buck Dr. Walter "Walt" Alexander Buck is a former provincial level politician and dentist from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1967 to 1989. During his time in office he served in numerous party caucuses and as an Independent.-Political career:Buck ran... |
147 | 8.8% |
| First ballot | ||
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| Harry Strom | 814 | 47.6% |
| Gordon Taylor Gordon Taylor Gordon Edward Taylor was a Canadian politician, businessman and teacher.-Provincial political career:He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1940 provincial election representing Drumheller for Social Credit and continued to sit in the legislature for 39 years... |
282 | 16.5% |
| Raymond Reierson Raymond Reierson Raymond Reierson is a former provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government... |
255 | 14.9% |
| Walt Buck Walt Buck Dr. Walter "Walt" Alexander Buck is a former provincial level politician and dentist from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1967 to 1989. During his time in office he served in numerous party caucuses and as an Independent.-Political career:Buck ran... |
184 | 10.8% |
| Edgar Gerhart Edgar Gerhart Edgar Henry Gerhart was a lawyer judge and provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government... |
137 | 8.0% |
| Alfred Hooke Alfred Hooke Alfred "Alf" John Hooke was a teacher, provincial politician and author from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit party in government... |
38 | 2.2% |