Ernest George Hansell

Rev. Ernest George Hansell (born: May 14, 1895 Norwich, England - died: December 9, 1965) was an ordained minister as well as a Canadian federal and provincial politician.

Federal politics

Hansell ran as a Social Credit candidate in the 1935 federal election. He defeated incumbent Member of Parliament George Gibson Coote to win his first term in office.

Hansell was hand-picked by Ernest Manning to serve as leader of the British Columbia Social Credit League during the 1952 British Columbia provincial election despite the fact that Hansell was an Albertan. Social Credit unexpectedly won the election but Hansell remained in Ottawa and the British Columbia party chose William Andrew Bennett as its new leader and Premier.

After helping Social Credit win the British Columbia provincial elections, Hansell would run for his 5th term in office in the 1953 federal election. He would defeat 4 other candidates, with the largest popular vote of his career. Hansell would run again for his 6th term in office in the 1957 federal election He would defeat Lawrence Kindt by a comfortable margin. Parliament would be dissolved a year later and Hansell and Kindt would face each other again this time Hansell would be defeated in the 1958 federal election in a landslide. After his defeat Hansell continued his work with the Social Credit party on the provincial level in Alberta.

Provincial politics

After his defeat from the Canadian House of Commons, Hansell ran for the Alberta Legislature in the 1959 Alberta general election. In that election he defeated incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Ross Ellis. Hansell served for 1 term as a backbencher in the Social Credit government before retiring from provincial politics in 1963.

External links

• Ernest George Hansell Federal Political Experience
• Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing