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 When William “Bible Bill” Aberhart and his Social Credit
government took office in Alberta in August 1935 after a landslide victory
over the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) party, they inherited a province
that was still crawling out from under the effects of the Depression.
The
years leading up to the fall of the UFA and the triumph of Social Credit had
been years of economic despair, a time when fortunes were lost and dreams
abandoned. Disillusionment and political scandal had plagued the UFA and by
the 1935 election the voters of Alberta were seeking a change.
It was a desire that resulted in the election of Social Credit and one of
the greatest election upsets the province had ever seen.
 Social Credit was both an economic doctrine and
significant political force that accounts for a substantial period of
government within the Province of Alberta. Following Aberhart’s death in
1943, the party continued under Ernest C. Manning, who won nine consecutive
terms. In total, the Social Credit Party governed the province for roughly
35 years, a yet unmatched record. While this remarkable success was in part
due to the replacement of social credit fundamentalism with conservative
financial and social policies, the roots of the Social Credit philosophy
were an integral part of Alberta’s development and the case of The
Premier vs. the Constitution.
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Heritage Community Foundation Presents
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