Aberhart, William

Aberhart, William (ā'burhärt) [key], 1878–1943, premier of Alberta, Canada, b. Ontario. He was a schoolteacher and a founder and dean of the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute (opened 1927). About 1932 he became interested in Social Credit, which advocated direct money payments to all citizens. He was an organizer of the Social Credit party of Alberta and was elected (1935) to the provincial legislature with enough supporters to control it. Thus Aberhart became premier (1935–43) of the first Social Credit government in the world. However, many of the legislative attempts to enact his principles were declared invalid by the courts.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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