William Aberhart

William Aberhart
A bald man in a suit with round spectacles
Aberhart in 1937
7th Premier of Alberta
In office
September 3, 1935 – May 23, 1943
MonarchsGeorge V
Edward VIII
George VI
Lieutenant GovernorWilliam L. Walsh
Philip Primrose
John C. Bowen
Preceded byRichard Gavin Reid
Succeeded byErnest Manning
Alberta Minister of Education
In office
September 3, 1935 – May 23, 1943
Preceded byPerren Baker
Succeeded bySolon Earl Low
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office
March 21, 1940 – May 23, 1943
ConstituencyCalgary
In office
November 4, 1935 – March 21, 1940
Preceded byWilliam Morrison
Succeeded byJohn Broomfield
ConstituencyOkotoks-High River
Personal details
Born(1878-12-30)December 30, 1878
Kippen, Ontario, Canada
DiedMay 23, 1943(1943-05-23) (aged 64)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Burnaby), Canada
Political partySocial Credit
SpouseJessie Flatt
Children2
Residence(s)Calgary, Alberta, Canada
OccupationEducator, evangelist
Signature

William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his radio sermons about the Bible, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943.[1] He was the founder and first leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party, which believed the Great Depression was caused by ordinary people not having enough to spend. Therefore, Aberhart argued that the government should give each Albertan $25 per month to spend to stimulate the economy, by providing needed purchasing power to allow needy customers to buy from waiting businesses.

During his premiership, Aberhart campaigned for and instituted several anti-poverty and debt relief programs, and other governmental reforms, such as consolidation of Alberta's numerous small school districts into centralized school divisions, and natural resources conservation. His attempts at banking reform met with less success, facing strong opposition from the federal government, the courts, privately owned newspapers and a coalition of the Liberal and Conservative parties. Aberhart's government did successfully establish the Alberta Treasury Branches (now ATB Financial), a government-owned financial institution to provide an alternative to existing banks, which continues to operate as a Crown corporation of the Alberta government.

  1. ^ Elliot, David R. (February 14, 2008). "William Aberhart". Canadian Encyclopedia (online ed.). Historica Canada. Retrieved September 24, 2013.