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William C. Smith (politician)

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William Cunningham Smith
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office
July 18, 1921 – June 28, 1926
Preceded byCharles Pingle
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
ConstituencyRedcliff
In office
June 28, 1926 – August 22, 1935
Preceded byNew district
Succeeded byDavid Lush
ConstituencyEmpress
Personal details
Born(1875-07-12)July 12, 1875
Glenallen, Ontario
DiedMay 24, 1968(1968-05-24) (aged 92)
Medicine Hat, Alberta
Political partyUnited Farmers
Spouse(s)Susan Evelyn Rutherford
m 20 Jan 1907[1]
Occupationpolitician

William Cunningham Smith (July 12, 1875 – May 24, 1968) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1935 as a member of the United Farmers caucus in government.

Early life

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William Cunningham Smith was born July 12, 1875, at Glenallen, Ontario to Abram Smith a public school teacher and his wife Eliza Cunningham, both of Irish descent.[2] He attended Stratford Collegiate Institute and practiced dentistry. He was married January 30, 1907 to Evelyn Rutherford and had two children.[2] Smith served in the 1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Second Boer War.[2]

Political career

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Smith first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1921 Alberta general election, as a United Farmers candidate in the electoral district of Redcliff. He defeated Charles Pingle, the Speaker of the Assembly, to pick up the seat for his party.[3]

The electoral district of Redcliff was abolished in redistribution by 1926. Smith ran for re-election in the new seat of Empress in the election held that year and defeated two other candidates.[4]

In the 1930 Alberta general election Smith won a tight two-way race over independent candidate E. A. Mantz.[5]

In the 1935 Alberta general election he was defeated by Social Credit candidate David Lush. He finished a distant second in the three-way race.[6]

Smith died in 1968 at the age of 92.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Person Details for William C Smith, "Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927" — FamilySearch.org". familysearch.org.
  2. ^ a b c Normandin, A. L., ed. (1935). The Canadian Parliamentary Guide. Ottawa: Mortimer Company Ltd. p. 379. ISSN 0315-6168. OCLC 893686591. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "Redcliff Official Results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  4. ^ "Empress Official Results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  5. ^ "Empress Official Results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  6. ^ "Empress Official Results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  7. ^ "Obituaries". The Medicine Hat News. 25 May 1968. p. 14.
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