Gordon Towers
Doug Fee | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Gordon Towers July 5, 1919 Willowdale, Alberta |
| Died | June 8, 1999 (aged 79) Red Deer, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative Party of Canada |
| Spouse |
Doris R. Nicholson (m. 1940) |
| Children | 5 |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Thomas Gordon Towers
Early life
Thomas Gordon Towers was born on July 5, 1919, the youngest of four children to Thomas Henry Towers and Janet Morrison, on the family's homestead in the Willowdale District (present day Red Deer County)[2] southeast of Red Deer, Alberta.[3]
Gordon Towers was educated at the Willowdale School, and although he aspired to go to university, he was unable to leave the family farm due to the Great Depression.
Gordon Towers married Doris Roberta Nicholson (b. 1921) on December 27, 1940, and they had five children together and fostered one daughter.[3]
In March 1941 Towers joined the
Federal political career
A farmer by profession, Gordon Towers was an unsuccessful Progressive Conservative candidate in Red Deer in the 1963 and 1965 federal elections, losing to the Social Credit Leader Robert N. Thompson both times.
Towers made a third run for the seat in the
Gordon Towers introduced several pieces of legislation to Parliament regarding representation, including the 1982 Private Members Bill C-223 which proposed Parliament continue to limit its membership to 282 until Canada reached a population of 50 million. All of Towers' private member bills died on the Order Paper.[3]
Lieutenant governor of Alberta
On the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney Towers was appointed lieutenant governor of Alberta by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn on March 11, 1991. Towers served in this post from March 11, 1991, to April 17, 1996, when his successor Bud Olson was sworn in as the 14th lieutenant governor.[1][3]
In 1993, Towers broke with tradition and refused the advice of Economic Development Minister
In another unusual move, Towers opened the Fourth Sitting of the 22nd Alberta Legislature with a "90-minute state-of-affairs address" rather than the traditional speech from the throne. Towers' reasoning for the change was that the session would last only a couple weeks until the 1993 Alberta general election was called.[3]
Later life
Towers created controversy when he called for the resignation of his successor as lieutenant governor, Bud Olsen, after he held the 1997
Gordon Towers died in Red Deer from complications of diabetes on June 8, 1999. He is buried in the Red Deer Cemetery.[1][3]
Honours and awards
In 1989, Towers was named the Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International, and the 1990 Citizen of the Year by the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce. Towers was made a Knight of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in 1991, and honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 749 Communication Squadron, Red Deer, in 1992.
In 1992 Towers received an
Arms
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References
- ^ a b c d "The Honourable T. Gordon Towers". lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Willowdale School District No. 303". Alberta on Record. Archives Society of Alberta. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
Willowdale School District No. 303 was established in 1894 at SW-22-27-26-W4. In 1904 the school building burned to the ground and the replacement school was shifted to NW-16-37-26-W4 in 1904.
- ^ ISBN 0-9689217-1-X. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Neitsch, Alfred Thomas. "A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review (Winter 2007): 25. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Geddes, Ashley (4 December 1996). "Fire lieutenant-governor, says irate predecessor". Calgary Herald. Edmonton. p. A4.
