Hon. George H. V. Bulyea | |
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1st Lieutenant Governor of Alberta | |
In office September 1, 1905 – October 20, 1915 | |
Appointed by | Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey |
Governors General | Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey Prince Arthur |
Premier | Alexander C. Rutherford Arthur L. Sifton |
Preceded by | Amédée E. Forget as Lieutenant Governor of the North-west Territories |
Succeeded by | Robert Brett |
Personal details | |
Born | George Hedley Vicars Bulyea February 17, 1859 Gagetown, Queens County, New Brunswick |
Died | July 22, 1928 Peachland, British Columbia | (aged 69)
Spouse | Annie Blanche Babbit (1863–1934) |
Children | Percy McFarlane (1885–1901) |
Alma mater | University of New Brunswick |
Occupation | teacher, businessman, politician |
Signature | ![]() |
George Hedley Vicars Bulyea (February 17, 1859 – July 22, 1928) was a Canadian politician and the first Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. As the youngest ever Lieutenant-Governor, at age 46[1], he was appointed by Governor General Lord Earl Grey on advice of The Right Honourable Prime Minister of Canada Sir Wilfrid Laurier on September 1, 1905.
He spent many years in the service of the territorial and provincial governments and played an important role in the early history of the Province of Alberta.
Early life
editGeorge Hedley Vicars Bulyea was born on February 17, 1859, in Gagetown, Queen's County, New Brunswick, to James Albert Bulyea, and Jane Blizzard, two prosperous farmers. Bulyea was a descendant of United Empire Loyalists, with his great-grandparents being born in New York.[2] James Albert Bulyea served as a captain with the 1st Battalion of the Queens County Militia, headquartered in Gagetown, his birthplace.[2]
He was educated at the Gagetown Grammar School and graduated from the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, in 1878, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was first in his class with honors in mathematics and French.[3]
After graduation from university, Bulyea decided to pursue a teaching career. He served as principal of the Sheffield Grammar School, Sudbury County, New Brunswick, from 1878, until 1882.[3] In 1883, he moved to Western Canada, and settled initially in Winnepeg, Manitoba.[4] In 1883, he moved to Qu'Appelle, District of Assiniboia, North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan)[5], a town just east of Regina. Up until 1898, he worked as a merchant, in which he dealt flour and feed.[3] He served as the first treasurer of Qu'Appelle, when it was formed as a municipality, in 1886.[3]
On January 29, 1885, he married Annie Blanche Babbit, the second daughter of Robert Thorne Babbit, Registrar of Queens County, New Brunswick. They had one son in 1885, Percy McFarlane Bulyea, who died at the age of fifteen on February 5, 1901,[3] of a paralytic affliction.[6] The Bulyeas were active members of the Baptist Church.[7]
Political career
editIn the 1891 Northwest Territories election, he ran as an unsuccessful candidate for a seat to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for the riding of South Qu'Appelle. He ran successfully for the same seat in 1894, and was elected in the 1894 Election[3] [8]. He was re-elected to the same position in 1898, and 1902[8] On October 7, 1897, he became a Member of the first Executive Council of the Northwest Territories which administered the affairs of the area that presently comprises Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon. He was re-elected by acclamation at a by-election on October 26, 1897. In 1898, he was appointed Special Commissioner to the Territories, serving in that capacity until the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905. During the period 1898 to 1905, he also served as Administrator of Territorial Affairs in the Yukon for one year. He was reelected to the Northwest Territories Assembly at the 1898 Northwest Territories election and again, by acclamation, in 1902 Northwest Territories election. George H.V. Bulyea was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture and Territorial Secretary in the Haultain government on January 12, 1899, relinquishing the agriculture portfolio in February, 1903, to become Commissioner of Public Works. Along with Frederick W. A. G. Haultain, he represented the territorial government in the negotiations with Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the federal Cabinet on the issue of provincial status.
Lieutenant Governor
editOn the advice of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, George H.V. Bulyea was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta effective September 1, 1905[9], the date that Alberta became a province. This appointment was made by Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada. During George H.V. Bulyea's period of service as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, his Secretaries were G.H. Babbit and A.C. Gillespie.
In 1910, Lieutenant Governor George H.V. Bulyea presided over the resignation of Premier A.C. Rutherford following the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal. He passed over the candidates of two rival factions in the Liberal government's caucus to promote, and finally name, Alberta's Chief Justice Arthur Sifton as Rutherford's successor. This decisive action helped put matters to rest.
The Lieutenant Governor also played a sensitive role in the internal politics of the provincial Liberal Party. The dynamics of federal and provincial political parties were not as clearly delineated then as they are today. The selection of such a prominent Liberal and an active political figure for the first Lieutenant Governor suggests that Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier expected that George H.V. Bulyea would play an assertive role in developing the politics of the new Province. However, the role of the Office has since evolved into a non-partisan and largely symbolic position. George H.V. Bulyea was appointed Lieutenant Governor for a second term and continued to serve in that capacity until his successor was appointed effective October 20, 1915. Following his service as Lieutenant Governor, The Honourable George H.V. Bulyea was appointed Chairman of Alberta's Board of Public Utilities on November 20, 1915.
In 1908, George H.V. Bulyea received Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Alberta and the University of New Brunswick. While living in Edmonton, he was a member of the Edmonton Club and the Edmonton Golf and Country Club.
Later life
editAfter the completion of his second term as Lieutenant Governor, he was appointed the first chair of Alberta's Board of Publicity Utility Commissioners, in which he would remain until 1923, when he would resign, due to ill health. After retirement, the Bulyeas moved, and settled in Peachland, British Columbia, where they had previously resided during summers, at their 4-hectare fruit orchard, and summer home. He was a shareholder in the Peachland Townsite Company and was involved in negotiations for the sale of it's irrigation system.
He was an active member of the Edmonton Club, and Edmonton Golf and Country Club, while living in Edmonton.
Death
editGeorge H. V. Bulyea died on July 22, 1928, in Peachland, British Columbia, after a long illness.[10] A service was held on July 24, at the United Church, in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, where he was later interred in the Qu'Appelle Cemetery.[10] His wife, Annie was interred alongside him, when she died, in 1934.
Footnotes
edit- ^ "The Honourable George H.V. Bulyea, 1905-15". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ a b Perry & Powell 2006, pp. 347.
- ^ a b c d e f Perry & Powell 2006, pp. 348.
- ^ Edmonton Bulletin (1928). First Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Dies. p. 1.
- ^ MacRae 1912, pp. 500.
- ^ Leader (Regina) (1901). Death of Percy Bulyea. p. 9.
- ^ Peachland Memories. p. 268.
- ^ a b Hall, David J. "Bulyea, George Hedley Vicars". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ Canada Gazette (1905). Appointments. p. 415.
- ^ a b Edmonton Journal (23 July 1928). "G. H. V. Bulyea Passed Away at Peachland". Edmonton Journal.
- Legislative Assembly of Alberta
- "Connormah/Sandbox 3". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
1 Amédée E. Forget served as Lieutenant-Governor of Northwest Territories until Alberta was separated from the Territories and became a province.
References
edit- Perry, Sandra E.; Powell, Karen L. (2006), On Behalf of the Crown: Lieutenant Governors of the North-West Territories and Alberta 1869–2005, Alberta: Legislative Assembly of Alberta
- MacRae, Archibald Oswald (1912), History of the Province of Alberta, Calgary, Alberta: Western Canada History Co.