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Hon. Alexander Cameron Rutherford
Hon. Alexander Cameron Rutherford
1st Premier of Alberta
In office September 2, 1905 – May 26, 1910
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Arthur Sifton
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Strathcona
In office November 9, 1905 – April 17, 1913
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	District abolished
Alberta Provincial Treasurer
In office September 9, 1905 – June 1, 1910
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	Arthur Sifton
Alberta Minister of Education
In office September 9, 1905 – June 1, 1910
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	Charles R. Mitchell
Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories for Strathcona
In office May 21, 1902 – September 1, 1905
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	District abolished
Born	February 2, 1857 Osgoode Township, Ontario
Died	June 11, 1941 (aged 84) Edmonton, Alberta
Political party	Alberta Liberal Party
Spouse	Mattie Birkett
Children	Cecil Alexander Cameron Hazel Elizabeth Marjorie Cameron (died in infancy)
Alma mater	McGill University
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Baptist

Alexander Cameron Rutherford (born: Osgoode, Ontario 2 February 1857 - died: 11 June 1941 Edmonton, Alberta), was a lawyer, politician, and the first Premier of Alberta from 1905 to 1910.

Contents 1 Early life 1.1 The move west 1.2 Early political career 1.3 Selection as Premier 2 Premier 2.1 1905 election 2.2 First legislature and regional tensions 2.3 Labour unrest 3 Overview 3.1 Law practice 4 First Premier of Alberta 4.1 Legislation 4.2 University of Alberta 4.3 Railway scandal 5 Later life 5.1 Associations 5.2 Chancellor 5.3 Honours 6 Electoral record 6.1 As party leader 6.2 As MLA 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

Early life

Alexander Rutherford was born February 2, 1857 near Ormond, Ontario on his family's dairy farm.¹ His parents, James and and Elizabeth (née Cameron) Rutherford, had immigrated from Scotland two years previous.¹ They joined the Baptist Church, and his father joined the Liberal Party of Canada and served for a time on the Osgoode village council.¹ He attended public school locally and, after rejecting dairy farming as a vocation, enrolled in a Metcalfe high school.¹ After graduating in 1874, he attended the Canadian Literary Institute, a Baptist college in Woodstock.¹ He graduated from there in 1876, and taught for a year in Osgoode before going to Montreal to study arts and civil law at McGill University.² He was awarded degrees in both in 1881, and joined the Ottawa law firm of Scott, McTavish and McCracken where he articled for four years under the tutelage of Richard William Scott.³ Called to the Ontario bar in 1885, he became a junior partner in the firm of Hodgins, Kidd and Rutherford with responsibility for its Kemptville office for ten years.⁴ He also established a moneylending business there.⁵ During this time, his social circle grew to include William Cameron Edwards.⁴ Through Edwards, he was introduced to the Birkett family, which included former Member of Parliament Thomas Birkett.⁴ Rutherford married Birkett's niece, Mattie Birkett, in December 1888.⁴ They had three children: Cecil (born in 1890), Hazel (born in 1893),⁴ and Marjorie (born in 1903, but died sixteen months later).⁶ Rutherford had a traditional view of gender roles, and was happy to leave most child-rearing responsibilities to his wife.⁷

The move west

In November 1886 Rutherford visited the Canadian west for the first time when he travelled to British Columbia to investigate the disappearance of his cousin.⁸ The Rocky Mountains and the west coast Chinese immigrants left a great impression on him, as did the coastal climate which he found "very agreeable".⁸ He visited again in the summer of 1894, when he took the Canadian Pacific Railway across the prairies.⁴ He stopped in Calgary before taking the train north to South Edmonton.⁴ He was excited by the small town's growth potential, and pleased to find that the dry air relieved his bronchitis.⁴ He resolved to settle there, and did so one year later, bringing his reluctant wife and his children.⁸ They arrived by train June 10, 1895, with a car load of furnishings.⁵ Within ten days of their arrival, Rutherford had opened a law office, purchased four lots of land, and contracted local builder Hugh McCurdy to build him a house.⁹ In July they moved into their new home, a four room house built on a single storey.⁹ In 1896 Rutherford became the town's only lawyer, as his only competition, Mervyn Mackenzie, moved to Toronto.⁵

Rutherford fast became a pillar of the community. Among the capacities in which he involved himself during his first three years in Alberta were President of the newly-formed South Edmonton Football Club (a position to which he was elected at the club's organizational meeting, four months after his arrival), secretary-treasurer of the South Edmonton School Board, president of the South Edmonton Athletic Association, vice president of the South Edmonton Literary Institute, auditor of the South Edmonton Agricultural Society, and worthy master of the Acacia Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.¹⁰ He later added to this the title of secretary of the Edmonton District Butter and Cheese Manufacturing Association.¹⁰ He was an early advocate for the incorporation of South Edmonton, hitherto an unincorporated community, and when incorporation came in 1899—as the Town of Strathcona—Rutherford became the new town's secretary-treasurer (after acting as returning officer in its first election).¹⁰

Throughout this period, he practised law, from 1899 with future Conservative MLA Frederick C. Jamieson as his partner.¹¹ He employed single women as secretaries in an era when clerical workers were predominantly male, and defended a native accused of murder at a time when most lawyers wouldn't.¹¹ He also invested extensive in property.¹² As their practice grew, he and Jamieson also engaged in moneylending.¹³ Besides his law practice, Rutherford was a successful real estate investor, and also owned and interest gold mining equipment situated on the North Saskatchewan River.¹²

Early political career

In 1896, Frank Oliver, who had represented Edmonton in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories since 1888, resigned to pursue a career in federal politics.¹⁰ Several Strathcona residents urged Rutherford to run for Oliver's old seat in the ensuing by-election.¹⁰ Though he was originally reluctant, he agreed to stand after a three hundred signature petition urging his candidacy was presented to him.¹⁰ His only opponent was former Edmonton mayor Matthew McCauley who, like Rutherford, ran as an independent.¹⁰ Rutherford campaigned on improved roads, resource development, simplification of territorial ordinances, and—in what would become a theme of his political career—increased educational funding.¹⁰ McCauley won the election, but Rutherford received more than forty percent of the vote.¹⁰

During the 1898 territorial election, Rutherford again challenged the now-incumbent McCauley.¹⁰ His defeat of two years previous still fresh in his mind, his platform this time included a call for a redrawing of the territory's electoral boundaries on the grounds that the current Edmonton riding was gerrymandered in McCauley's favour.¹⁴ He also repeated his past calls for improved roads and advocated for increased taxation on the railroads.¹⁴ He pledged "independent support" for the non-partisan administration of Premier Frederick Haultain,¹⁰ and also supported that administration's call for the creation of a single province from the territories following the 1901 census.¹⁴ Rutherford also criticized McCauley's past record, accusing him of silence on issues that were of concern to his constituents.¹⁴ Despite this, McCauley won again, albeit by a reduced margin.¹⁴

He was at last successful in the 1902 election, when he ran in the newly-created riding of Strathcona.¹⁵ It at first looked as though he would run unopposed, on a similar platform of independent support for Haultain has he had adopted in 1898 (though this time supporting a two province integration of the Northwest Territories into Confederation, rather than Haultain's preferred one province approach, on the grounds that a single province would be so large as to be ungovernable).¹⁵ However, at the last minute local lawyer Nelson D. Mills publicly accused Rutherford of being not a true independent, but a dyed-in-the-wool Haultain supporter, and announced that he would run against him.¹⁵ Nevertheless, Rutherford was supported by most of Strathcona's most prominent residents, including his law partner Jamieson and his future rival John R. Boyle, and won an easy victory.¹⁵

He served in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories until Alberta became a province in 1905. During his tenure, he was elected deputy speaker and sat on standing committees for libraries, municipal law, and education.¹⁵ His legislative efforts included successful attempts to extend the boundaries of the Town of Strathcona and to empower it to borrow for construction of public works.¹⁵ He was considered a possible member of Haultain's executive council, likely in the post of Commissioner of Public Works, but the post instead went to George Bulyea.¹⁶ He joined many of his fellow MLAs in continuing to advocate for provincial status, finding that the limitations on a territory's means to raise revenue preventing the Northwest Territories from meeting its obligations.¹⁷

Though Rutherford supported Haultain's vision of non-partisan territorial administration, federally he was an avowed Liberal. In 1900, he was elected president of the Strathcona Liberal association, and was a delegate to the convention that nominated Oliver as the party's candidate in Alberta for the 1900 federal election.¹² He subsequently campaigned for Oliver in his successful re-election attempt.¹² When the new federal constituency of Strathcona¹⁸ was formed in advance of the 1904 election, Rutherford was urged to accept the Liberal nomination, but demurred.¹⁹ Peter Talbot was selected instead and, supported by Rutherford, was elected.¹⁹

Selection as Premier

In February 1905, the government of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier introduced legislation to create two new provinces—Alberta and Saskatchewan—from the Northwest Territories.²⁰ Though Haultain wanted the new provinces to be governed on the same non-partisan basis as the Territories had been, it was expected that the Liberal Laurier would recommend a Liberal to serve as Lieutenant-Governor, and it was further assumed that that Lieutenant-Governor would call on a Liberal to form the news province's first government.²¹ Oliver was the province's most prominent Liberal, but had just been named federal Minister of the Interior, and wasn't interested in leaving Ottawa.²² Talbot was the Laurier's preferred candidate, but he expected to be appointed to the Senate, and found the prospect more congenial than serving as Premier of Alberta (though he still asked that a position be kept open for him in Alberta in case the appointment didn't materialize).²² Both men supported Rutherford, though neither was enthusiastic about doing so.²³ In August, Bulyea was appointed Alberta's first Lieutenant-Governor and later that month the Alberta Liberals selected Rutherford as their first leader.²⁴ A final barrier was removed a few days later when Haultain, who was a Conservative federally but who was thought to be a potential leader of a coalition government, announced that he would stay in Regina.²⁵ On September 2, Bulyea asked Alexander Rutherford to form the first government of Alberta.²⁶

After accepting, Rutherford selected a geographically diverse cabinet on September 6: Edmonton's Charles Wilson Cross as Attorney-General, Calgary's William Henry Cushing as Minister of Public Works, Medicine Hat's William Finlay as Minister of Agriculture and Provincial Secretary, and Lethbridge's George DeVeber as Minister without Portfolio.²⁷ Rutherford kept for himself the positions of Provincial Treasurer and Minister of Education.²⁸

Premier

1905 election

Main article: Alberta general election, 1905

Rutherford was Premier, but had not yet faced the people in an election and did not yet have a legislature to which to propose legislation. Elections for the first Legislative Assembly of Alberta were accordingly fixed for November 9. The Conservatives, the young province's only other political party, had already selected as its leader R. B. Bennett. Bennett attacked the terms under which Alberta had been made a province, especially the clauses that left control of its lands natural resources in the hands of the federal government (an indignity to which Canada's older provinces were not subjected) and required the continued provincial funding of separate schools, though education was a provincial responsibility under the British North America Act. To these criticisms, the Liberals responded by highlighting the financial compensation the province received from the federal government in exchange for control of its natural resources, which amounted to $375,000 per year, and by suggesting that Conservative concern for control of lands was due to their desire to make favourable land concessions to the unpopular Canadian Pacific Railway (which had historically been friendly with the Conservatives, and for whom Bennett had acted as solicitor).

Besides the Conservatives' ties to the CPR, Rutherford's Liberals enjoyed the incumbent's advantage of controlling the levers of patronage, and the election's result was never really in doubt. Before the election, Talbot predicting that the government would win eighteen of the province's twenty-five seats. Immediately after the election, it looked as though the number would be twenty-one, while once all votes were counted the Liberals won twenty-three seats to the Conservatives' two. Bennett himself was defeated in his Calgary riding. When the outcome was clear, the people of Strathcona feted Rutherford with a torchlight procession and bonfire.

First legislature and regional tensions

One of the most contentious issues facing the newly-elected government was that of the province's capital city. The federal legislation creating the province had fixed Edmonton as the provisional capital, much to the chagrin of Calgary. Neither party had taken a position on the divisive question during the campaign, but selecting a permanent capital was high on the list of the new legislature's orders of business. Calgary's case was made most enthusiastically by Minister of Public Works Cushing; Edmonton's by Attorney-General Cross. Banff and Red Deer were also possibilities, but motions to select each failed to find seconders. In the end, Edmonton was selected by a vote of sixteen members—including Rutherford—to eight.

A personal priority of Rutherford has been the establishment of a university. Though not everybody was convinced of its necessity (the Edmonton Bulletin opined that it would be unfair "that the people of the Province should be taxed for the special benefit of four per cent that they may be able to attach the cognomen of B.A. or M.A. to their names and flaunt the vanity of such over the taxpayer, who has to pay for it"), Rutherford was concerned that delay might result in the establishment of denominational colleges, striking a blow to his dream of a high quality non-sectarian system of post-secondary education. Legislation to establish the university passed the legislature in 1907, but left its location to be decided by the government. Calgary felt that, having lost the fight to be provincial capital, it could expect the university to be established there, and was not pleased a year later when the government announced the establishment of the University of Alberta in Rutherford's hometown of Strathcona.

Though these regionally-charged issues attracted much attention, they were far from the government's only initiatives during the first legislature. During 1906 it passed a series of acts dealing with the organization and administration of the new provincial government and incorporated the cities of Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Wetaskiwin. It also established a speed limit of 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) for motorized vehicles and set up a regime for mine inspection. Perhaps most significantly, it set up a court system, with Arthur Lewis Sifton as the province's Chief Justice.

Though the establishment of the University of Alberta was the centrepiece of Rutherford's educational policy, it was far from the only thing he did in his capacity as Minister of Education. 140 new schools were established in the first year of Alberta's existence, and a normal school was set up in Calgary. Of special interest was the creation of English language schools in the large portions of the province occupied primarily by central- and eastern-European immigrants. The immigrants themselves were often unable to speak English, and the provision of these schools for their children was a major factor in their rapid assimilation into Albertan society. They were also in lieu of separate religious schools for groups such as Mennonites; while the continued existence of Roman Catholic separate schools was mandated by the terms of Alberta's admission into Confederation, the government's policy was otherwise to encourage a unified and secular public school system. Rutherford also introduced free school texts in the province, though he was criticized for commissioning the texts from a Toronto publisher (which printed them in New York) rather than in Alberta.

Labour unrest

The winter of 1906 and 1907 was the coldest in Alberta history; this was exacerbated by a shortage of coal. One cause of this shortage was the strained relationship between coal miners and mine operators in the province. At the beginning of April 1907 the Canada West Coal and Coke Company locked out the miners from its mine near Taber. The same company was also facing a work stoppage at its mine in the Crow's Nest Pass, where miners were refusing to sign a new contract. The problem spread, until by April 22 all 3,400 miners working for member-companies of the Western Coal Operators' Association were off work. Miners' demands ranged from increased wages, a reduction in working hours to eight per day (from ten), the posting of mine inspection reports, the isolated storage of explosives, the use of non-freezing explosives, and semi-monthly rather than monthly pay (the mine operators objected to this last point on the basis that many miners did not report to work the day after payday, and it was thus desirable to keep paydays to a minimum).

Rutherford's government called a commission in February, but it was not until May that it came together. It consisted of Chief Justice Sifton, Mining executive Lewis Stockett, and miners' union executive William Haysom. It began taking evidence in July. In the meantime, a May agreement saw most miners return to work at increased rates of pay; coal supply promptly increased, as did its price. In August, the commission reported. Its recommendations included that children under sixteen should not be permitted to work in mines, the posting of inspectors' reports, mandatory bath houses at mine sites, and improved ventilation inspection. It also recommended that Albertans keep a supply of coal on hand during the summer for winter use. The commission was silent on wages (except to say that these should not be fixed by legislation), the operation of company stores (a sore point among the miners), or the incorporation of mine unions (which was recommended by mines by opposed by the unions). It also made no recommendation about working hours, but Rutherford's government legislated an eight hour day anyway.

Apart from coal mining issues, the government also passed workers' compensation legislation designed to make such compensation automatic, rather than requiring the injured worker to sue his employer. Labour representatives criticized the bill for failing to impose fines on negligent employers and for limiting construction workers' eligibility under the program to injuries sustained while working on buildings more than 40 feet (12 m) in height, as well as for its exemption of casual labourers. It also viewed the maximum payout of $1,500 as inadequate. In response to these concerns, the maximum was increased to $1,800 and the minimum building height reduced to 30 feet (9.1 m). In response to farmers' concern, farm labourers were exempt from the bill entirely.

Rutherford's relationship with organized labour was never easy. Historian L.G. Thomas argued that there was little indication that Rutherford had any interest in courting the labour vote; in 1908, Labour candidate Donald McNabb was elected in a Lethbridge by-election; the riding had previously been held by a Liberal, though he was defeated in his re-election bid.

Overview

Alexander Cameron Rutherford is widely known as the "architect of the province" and "father of the university" of Alberta, as the province's first Premier. He was famous for his incredibly strong support of education and for his active participation in community affairs. As a long term visionary Alexander Cameron Rutherford was looking forward to Western Canada becoming one of the world's major centres of advanced intellectual and industrial activity in the context of a British system of government.

Following his election as President of the Alberta Liberal Party in August 1905, he was subsequently appointed Premier of Alberta by Lieutenant-Governor George Bulyea, the day after the Province of Alberta was established. Alexander Cameron Rutherfords' government was ratified and sustained by a large majority at the 1905 Alberta general election, on the basis of the Provincial Liberal Convention platform, formed in Calgary, on Thursday 3 August 1905. As well as serving as Premier during the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly, Alexander Cameron Rutherford was also Provincial Treasurer and Minister of Education.

Law practice

Alexander Cameron Rutherford was joined in the practice of law by Stanley Harwood McCuaig, who articled with the firm and later married Rutherford's daughter Hazel. That firm, Rutherford McCuaig, continues to operate in Edmonton as one of Alberta's oldest law firms, McCuaig Desrochers.

First Premier of Alberta

Rutherford was appointed by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to lead the temporary government prior to the first general election after the creation of Alberta. His Alberta Liberal Party won a large mandate and swept into power in the new province's first general election on 9 November 1905.

Legislation

The Rutherford Liberal Government proceeded with:

• establishing the laws necessary to make the transition from territorial to provincial status
• organizing and setting up the new Alberta capital
• building the new Alberta Legislature
• creating the public telephone system - Alberta Government Telephones (AGT); privatized as Telus in 1990
• expanding roads and railways up to the subarctic regions, including the Yukon and Northwest Territories
• organizing and building thousands of schools for the K-12 system
• establishing the University of Alberta as a world class British university

University of Alberta

Rutherford took particular interest in the education system and rapidly expanded Alberta's public school system. In 1906, he initiated legislation founding the University of Alberta and personally selected the site in Strathcona for the university campus. At the general election of 1909, the Rutherford Liberal Government was re-elected with another strong majority, and Alexander Cameron Rutherford continued to serve as Premier, Provincial Treasurer, and Minister of Education. In early 1910 Alexander Cameron Rutherford bought a lot near the newly established University of Alberta campus and in 1911 built his family a home, which he called "Achnacarry" (now known as Rutherford House) after his ancestral residence in Scotland.

Railway scandal

Although Rutherford's popular government promoted railway and road expansion and the creation of a public telephone system, he along with the entire governing cabinet was forced to resign as premier on 26 May 1910, over allegations of conflict of interest in the government's proposals to insure bonds issued by a railway company. The scandal became known as the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal.²⁹ Despite being cleared on any wrongdoing in the scandal Rutherford was defeated in 1913. Following the his defeat in the 1913 Alberta general election by Conservative Herbert Crawford, Rutherford returned to the practice of law with the now expanded firm, Rutherford, Jamieson, and Grant.

Rutherford later joined the federal Conservatives, campaigning for them in the 1921 federal election.

Later life

Rutherford encouraged his only son, Cecil Alexander Rutherford, to serve with the British Army Artillery as a Second Lieutenant for the duration of World War I while Cecil's wife, Helen Reid Rutherford, lived with the Rutherford family at Achnacarry, now known as Rutherford House. Cecil served in the artillery with distinction, taking a shrapnel hit to the back of the head under his helmet, narrowly missing the spinal column. Cecil returned to the front lines, after a brief respite in England. During this time, Alexander Cameron Rutherford served back on the home front as the Alberta Director of the National Service Commission, and immediately after World War I served as a member of the Loan Advisory Committee of the Soldier Settlement Board.

Associations

Alexander Cameron Rutherford had many concurrent associations, including serving as:

• Senate of the University of Alberta from 1911 to 1927
• President of the Edmonton Mortgage Corporation
• Vice-President of the Great Western Garment (GWG) Factory
• A Member of the Board of Directors of the:
  • Canadian National Fire Insurance Company
  • Imperial Canadian Trust Company
  • Monarch Life Assurance Company
  • Great West Permanent Loan Company
• President of the Edmonton Branch, Historical Society of Alberta (1919-41)
• President of the McGill Alumni Association (1922)

Chancellor

In 1927, at the age of 70, Alexander Cameron Rutherford was appointed Chancellor of the University of Alberta.

Honours

Alexander Cameron Rutherford's service to his community and the Province of Alberta has been recognized in many ways:

• In 1911, a new elementary school in Edmonton was named after him - Rutherford Elementary School³⁰
  • Alexander Cameron Rutherford believed that a high quality education system was of paramount importance
• In 1951, the first free-standing University of Alberta library was named in his memory - Rutherford Library
  • This was quite a fitting honour, as Alexander Cameron Rutherford was an avid book collector, with a large personal library in his house near the University of Alberta campus. Much of his personal collection was dedicated to Canadian works, including a white leather bound edition of Canadiana. Recently, the original Rutherford Library has been expanded in the newer, much larger, modern Rutherford Library North.
• In 1954, a mountain located in Jasper National Park was named after him - Mount Rutherford

Some of Alexander Cameron Rutherford's most treasured honours:

• Honorary President, Edmonton Football Club (1895)
• Patron, Strathcona Curling Club³¹ (1902)
• Honorary President of the Strathcona Baseball Club, Curling Club, and Football Club (1903)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, McMaster University (1907)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Toronto (1907)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Alberta (1908)
• King's Counsel (1913)
• Honorary Colonel of the 194th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (1916)
• Honorary Life Member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (1916)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, McGill University (1931)
• King's Jubilee Medal (1935)
• King's Coronation Medal (1937)
• Honorary President of the Canadian Authors' Association³² (1937)

Alexander Cameron Rutherford passed away on 11 June 1941, at the age of 84, in Edmonton, and is buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, in the Rutherford family plot.

Electoral record

As party leader

1909 Alberta provincial election
Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1905	1909	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Liberal	Alexander C. Rutherford	42	23	36	+63.8%	29,634	59.26%	+1.70%
	Conservative	Albert Robertson	29	2	2	0%	15,848	31.7%	−5.43%
	Independent		6	-	1		1,695	3.39%	−1.92%
	Independent Liberal		2		1		1,311	2.62%
	Socialist		2		1		1,302	2.60%
	Labour	Donald McNabb	1		-		214	0.43%
Total			82	25	41	+64.0%	50,004	100%
1909 Alberta provincial election
Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
							#		%
	Liberal	Alexander C. Rutherford	26	23			14,485		57.56%
	Conservative	Richard Bennett	23	2			9,316		37.13%
	Independent		7	-			1,336		5.31%
	Labor		2	-			843		%
Total			56	25			25,163		100%

As MLA

1913 Alberta general election results (Edmonton South)			Turnout
	Conservative	Herbert Crawford	1,523	54.4%
	Liberal	Alexander Cameron Rutherford	1,275	45.6%
1909 Alberta general election results (Strathcona)			Turnout
	Liberal	Alexander Cameron Rutherford	1,034	85.9%
	Conservative	Rice Sheppard	173	14.1%
1905 Alberta general election results (Strathcona)			Turnout
	Liberal	Alexander Cameron Rutherford	625	67.1%
	Conservative	Frank W. Crang	306	32.9%
1902 Northwest Territories general election results (Strathcona)33			Turnout
	Liberal-Conservative	Alexander Cameron Rutherford	577	89.5%
	Independent	N.D. Mills	68	10.5%
1898 Northwest Territories general election results (Edmonton)33			Turnout
	Independent	Matthew McCauley	582	48.8%
	Independent	Alexander Cameron Rutherford	498	41.8%
	Independent	Harry Havelock Robertson	112	9.4%
1896 by-election results (Edmonton)33			Turnout
	Independent	Matthew McCauley	567	58.6%
	Independent	Alexander Cameron Rutherford	400	41.4%

Notes

References

• Babcock, D. R. (1989). A Gentleman of Strathcona: Alexander Cameron Rutherford. Calgary, Alberta: University of Calgary Press. ISBN 0919813577. 
• Roome, Patricia (2004). "Alexander C. Rutherford", in Bradford J. Rennie: Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century. Regina, Saskatchewan: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. ISBN 0-88977-151-0. 
• Thomas, L. G. (1959). The Liberal Party in Alberta. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

External links

• Alberta legislative assembly biography
• Rutherford Research biography

1st Ministry - Government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford
Cabinet Posts (3)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
New Position	Minister of Education (1905–1910)	Charles R. Mitchell
New Position	Provincial Treasurer (1905–1910)	Arthur Lewis Sifton
New Position	Premier of Alberta (1905–1910)	Arthur Lewis Sifton

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
Preceded by New district	MLA Strathcona 1902-1905	Succeeded by District abolished
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Preceded by New district	MLA Strathcona 1905-1913	Succeeded by Rob Lougheed
Party political offices
Preceded by none	Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party 1905–1910	Succeeded by Arthur L. Sifton
Academic offices
Preceded by Nicolas Dubois Dominic Beck	Chancellor of the University of Alberta 1927–1942	Succeeded by Frank Ford

v • d • e Premiers of Alberta Rutherford · Sifton · Stewart · Greenfield · Brownlee · Reid · Aberhart · Manning · Strom · Lougheed · Getty · Klein · Stelmach

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