Gordon Kesler
Gordon Kesler | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Olds-Didsbury | |
| In office February 17, 1982 – November 2, 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Curtis Clark |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Stiles |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1945 (age 78–79) |
| Political party | Western Canada Concept |
Gordon Kesler (born 1945) is a former politician from Alberta, Canada.
Political career[edit]
Gordon Kesler's stunning victory in the February 1982 by-election for the Western Canada Concept received national media attention. Kesler was the first separatist politician elected in Canada outside of Quebec since the 1870s, although his activities were primarily related to opposing official bilingualism and the introduction of the metric system.[1][2][3]
After the win, Kesler became leader of the party. He won the Olds-Didsbury electoral district defeating Stephen Stiles of the Progressive Conservatives and Lloyd Quantz of Social Credit and three other candidates.[4]
During the 1982 general election, held only months later in November, Kesler lost his seat despite Western Canada Concept fielding a full slate. He had shifted districts to his home district of Highwood after promising to move to Olds-Didsbury if elected. The time he served was the second shortest between election and defeat in the legislature's history. Harry Alger from the Progressive Conservatives defeated him with a five thousand vote plurality.[5]
In a 1983 letter to the editor of the Alberta Report, Doug Christie, founder of the Western Canada Concept, accused Gordon Kesler of betraying separatism. Kesler and his party had been striving to distance themselves from the controversial Christie.
Electoral record[edit]
| Alberta provincial by-election, February 17, 1982: Olds-Didsbury Upon the resignation of Robert Curtis Clark on November 30, 1981 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Western Canada Concept | Gordon Kesler | 4,015 | 42.20 | — | ||||
| Social Credit | Lloyd Quantz | 2,669 | 28.05 | -42.11 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Stephen Stiles | 2,396 | 25.18 | -2.38 | ||||
| New Democratic | Myrna Jarboe | 308 | 3.24 | +1.57 | ||||
| Liberal | George Leussink | 126 | 1.32 | +0.72 | ||||
| Independent | Adilsha Shivji | 9 | 0.09 | — | ||||
| Total valid votes | 9,514 | 100.00 | — | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 19 | — | — | |||||
| Eligible electors / Turnout | 13,798 | 69.09 | -4.29 | |||||
| Western Canada Concept gain from Social Credit | Swing | +42.16 | ||||||
Source(s)
Elections Alberta. "By-elections". Retrieved April 30, 2018. | ||||||||
| 1982 Alberta general election: Highwood | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Harry Alger | 7,811 | 70.08% | 3.58% | ||||
| Western Canada Concept | Gordon Kesler | 2,006 | 18.00% | * | ||||
| New Democratic | William McCutcheon | 465 | 4.17% | 0.51% | ||||
| Independent | R.L. Snell | 436 | 3.91% | |||||
| Independent | Don Tanner | 245 | 2.20% | |||||
| Alberta Reform Movement | Ronald Arkes | 183 | 1.64% | * | ||||
| Total | 11,146 | |||||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 30 | |||||||
| Eligible electors / Turnout | 14,495 | 77.10% | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | 10.79% | ||||||
Source(s)
"Highwood Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved March 30, 2010. | ||||||||
References[edit]
- ^ "The page has moved" (PDF).
- ^ "Gordon Kesler and his Western Canada Concept colleagues, successful".
- ^ "Western Canada gets its first separatist leader". Christian Science Monitor. 19 February 1982.
- ^ "Olds-Didsbury by-election results". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ^ "Highwood Official Results 1982". Alberta Heritage. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2008-03-19.