Don Getty, Alberta’s 11th premier, died Feb. 26 in Edmonton.
Getty was premier of Alberta from 1985-92.
He was born in Quebec in 1933 and attended the University of Western Ontario, where he was active in football and basketball.
He moved to Alberta in 1955, where he played professional football with the Edmonton Eskimos for 10 years and helped lead the team to two Grey Cups.
He also worked for Imperial Oil in Edmonton and eventually formed his own company, Baldonnel Oil and Gas, in 1964. He became a partner in the investment firm of Doherty, Roadhouse and McCuaig in 1967.
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Getty met Peter Lougheed while playing for the Eskimos, and Lougheed invited Getty to seek provincial office after becoming leader of the provincial Progressive Conservative party.
Getty was elected in 1967.
He was appointed minister of federal and intergovernmental affairs when the PCs won the election in 1971 and became minister of energy and natural resources following the 1975 election.
He left politics in 1979 to work in the private sector and returned to government in 1985 when he won the PC leadership.
His tenure was rocked by low oil prices and attempts to diversify the economy. The government had a $15 billion deficit by the time he left office.
The government lent businessperson Peter Pocklington $67 million in cash and loan guarantees for the Gainers pork plant in Edmonton, which the province had to take over in 1989 when the loans were in default. The government also backed NovAtel Communications, which eventually lost $600 million.
Getty was also in power during the collapse of the Principal Group investment company, which led to $457 million in losses for 67,000 investors.
He also favoured an elected Senate and held the first Senate election in Canada. The winner, Stan Waters, was appointed later in the year by prime minister Brian Mulroney.
Getty was a strong supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the development of the oilsands in northern Alberta. He also established the February family day, holiday, the first of its kind in Canada.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and four sons.
Contact barbara.duckworth@producer.com
