Stanley Schumacher

Stanley Schumacher
Member of Parliament for Palliser
In office 1968 Federal election – 1979 Federal election
Preceded by	none
Succeeded by	Gordon Taylor
Personal details
Born	June 12, 1933 Hanna, Alberta
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Virginia Schumacher
Residence	Drumheller, Alberta
Profession	Barrister, Lawyer

Stanley Stanford Schumacher QC (born June 12, 1933) was speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and a member of the Canadian House of Commons from Alberta, Canada.

Early life

He was born in Hanna, Alberta to parents Louis and Gladys Schumacher. In 1968, he was married to Virginia Brodie with whom he had two children Sandra and David.

He attended school in Dorothy and Drumheller, Alberta before attending the University of British Columbia where he received his Law Degree. He returned to Drumheller where he practiced law.

Federal political career

Schumacher first ran for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the 1968 Federal election, and was elected to represent Palliser in Alberta. He would serve in the Canadian House of Commons for a total of three terms.

As a result of redistribution for what would be the 1979 federal election, Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark and Schumacher saw their ridings abolished. Schumacher intended to seek the nomination in the new riding of Bow River which included much of his old district, but was asked by party officials to step aside in favour of Clark, and seek another riding instead. Schumacher refused and while Clark ended up running in Yellowhead, Schumacher was challenged for the Bow River nomination by Gordon Taylor and lost in a controversial meeting in which Schumacher's supporters alleged that people who were not bona fide members of the party voted. Schumacher's former assistant, John Aimers, resigned from the party in January 1978 in protest accusing the national executive engineering Schumacher's defeat.^[1]

On February 28, 1978 Schumacher left the party in order to sit as an Independent. His tenure as an Independent member lasted until his defeat in the 1979 federal election. In that election he ran in the new electoral district of Bow River but lost to Taylor.

Provincial political career

In the 1986 Alberta general election Schumacher ran for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta in Drumheller electoral district. His first role in the Legislative Assembly was Deputy Speaker, he served that position for until 1993.

Schumacher became Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1993 after the retirement of David Carter. He retired in 1997 from politics after the dissolution of the 24th Legislature ^[2] after serving a total of three terms as an MLA.

Late life

After his career in the provincial legislature he served on the Alberta Surface Rights and Land Compensation boards where he eventually became Chairman.

In November 2012, Schumacher received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (he previously received the Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals) in recognition for his public service contributions to Albertans and Canadians over the past 45+ years.

Currently, he is practicing law with Schumacher, Gough, and Company and resides with his wife Virginia in Drumheller.

References

1. Canadian Press (27 January 1978). "Ex-head of PC youth unit quits the party and will join Liberals". The Globe and Mail. p. A9.
2. "Alberta Legislature Hansard: Biography of Alberta Speakers May 16, 2006" (PDF). Alberta Legislature. Retrieved 2007-06-25.

External links

• Stanley Schumacher – Parliament of Canada biography