Alvin Hamilton

Francis Alvin George Hamilton PC (March 30, 1912 – June 29, 2004) was a Canadian politician. Hamilton led the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan from 1949 until he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 general election. That election brought the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to power under John Diefenbaker. He served as Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources, 1957 to 1960. He promoted a new vision of northern development. He was Minister of Agriculture, 1960 to 1963, where he promoted wheat sales to China.

The Right Honourable Alvin Hamilton PC
Minister of Agriculture
In office October 11, 1960 – April 22, 1963
Prime Minister	John Diefenbaker
Preceded by	Douglas Harkness
Succeeded by	Harry Hays
Member of Parliament for Qu'Appelle—Moose Mountain
In office October 30, 1972 – November 20, 1988
Preceded by	Richard Southam
Succeeded by	Riding abolished
Member of Parliament for Qu'Appelle
In office June 10, 1957 – June 24, 1968
Preceded by	Henry Mang
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
Personal details
Born	Francis Alvin George Hamilton (1912-03-30)March 30, 1912 Kenora, Ontario, Canada
Died	June 29, 2004(2004-06-29) (aged 92) Manotick, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Education	University of Saskatchewan
Occupation	Soldier, politician

Life and career

Born in Kenora, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938 from the University of Saskatchewan. During World War II, he served with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a navigator and flight lieutenant. He was awarded the Burma Star Decoration.

After the war, he ran three times unsuccessfully as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1945, 1949, and 1953 elections. He was elected in 1957 in the riding of Qu'Appelle and re-elected 4 more times in 1958, 1962, 1963, and 1965. He ran in the riding of Regina East in the 1968 federal election, and lost by 192 votes to the New Democrat candidate. He was elected again in the 1972 federal election in the riding of Qu'Appelle—Moose Mountain and was re-elected 4 more times in 1974, 1979, 1980, and 1984. He retired in 1988.

Hamilton served as Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources in the Diefenbaker cabinet from 1957 to 1960, supporting a new vision of northern development. From 1960 to the 1963 election, when the Diefenbaker government was defeated, Hamilton served as Minister of Agriculture, pioneering wheat sales to the People's Republic of China. He was a candidate at the 1967 PC leadership convention, making it to the fourth ballot before dropping out.

In 1992, Hamilton was granted the honorific style of "The Right Honourable" by Elizabeth II in honour of his service to Canada. This is a rare honour for someone who did not serve as Prime Minister of Canada, Chief Justice of Canada or Governor General of Canada.

After Hamilton retired from politics in 1988, he lived a relatively secluded life in the Ottawa-area town of Manotick, where he lived until his death in 2004. On June 28, 2007, the newly refurbished Government of Canada Building in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, was officially named the Francis Alvin George Hamilton Building. Also, one of the reception rooms at the Embassy of Canada to China in Beijing is called the Alvin Hamilton Room.

Further reading

• Kyba, Patrick (1989). Alvin: a biography of the Honourable Alvin Hamilton, P.C.. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center. ISBN 978-0-88977-056-0. OCLC 21041688.
• Mitcham, Chad J., China's Economic Relations with the West and Japan: Grain, Trade and Diplomacy, 1949–79, Routledge, New York and London, 2005.
• Alvin Hamilton fonds at Library and Archives Canada.

Electoral record

1965 Canadian federal election: Qu'Appelle
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Alvin Hamilton	9,579	57.5	-2.6
	Liberal	Charlie Lenz	4,033	24.2	-0.1
	New Democratic	Clif Argue	2,658	16.0	+4.5
	Social Credit	Wilfred Totten	375	2.3	-1.9
Total valid votes			16,645	100.0

1963 Canadian federal election: Qu'Appelle
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Alvin Hamilton	10,690	60.2	+1.7
	Liberal	L.L. Prefontaine	4,312	24.3	+0.8
	New Democratic	Norman Kennedy	2,028	11.4	-0.6
	Social Credit	Edwin Fredlund	729	4.1	-2.0
Total valid votes			17,759	100.0

1962 Canadian federal election: Qu'Appelle
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Alvin Hamilton	10,680	58.5	-0.6
	Liberal	L.L. Prefontaine	4,291	23.5	-1.0
	New Democratic	Harry E. Richardson	2,188	12.0	-4.5
	Social Credit	Herman A. Hauser	1,113	6.1
Total valid votes			18,272	100.0

Note: NDP vote is compared to CCF vote in 1958 election.

1958 Canadian federal election: Qu'Appelle
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Alvin Hamilton	10,514	59.0	+24.8
	Liberal	Thomas Kearns	4,357	24.5	-5.9
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Norman Kennedy	2,941	16.5	-7.1
Total valid votes			17,812	100.0

1957 Canadian federal election: Qu'Appelle
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Alvin Hamilton	6,217	34.2	+7.1
	Liberal	Henry Philip Mang	5,512	30.4	-8.1
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Norman Kennedy	4,279	23.6	-7.3
	Social Credit	David Isman	2,150	11.8	+8.3
Total valid votes			18,158	100.0

1953 Canadian federal election: Qu'Appelle
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Philip Mang	6,988	38.5	-6.3
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Lawrence Irwin Hockley	5,612	30.9	-7.0
	Progressive Conservative	Alvin Hamilton	4,930	27.1	+9.7
	Social Credit	Anton Edward Kovatch	644	3.5
Total valid votes			18,174	100.0

External links

• Alvin Hamilton – Parliament of Canada biography
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada biography