William Aberhart, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetWilliam Aberhart
Canadian politician
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Perth County, Ontario, Canada
About William Aberhart
- William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as Bible Bill for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh Premier of Alberta (1935 to his death in 1943).
- He was the founder and first leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party, which believed the Great Depression was caused by ordinary people not having enough to spend.
- Therefore, Aberhart argued that the government should give each Albertan $25 per month to spend to stimulate the economy, by providing needed purchasing power to allow needy customers to buy from waiting businesses. During his premiership, Aberhart campaigned for and instituted several anti-poverty and debt relief programs, and other governmental reforms, such as consolidation of Alberta's numerous small school districts into centralized school divisions, and natural resources conservation.
- His attempts at banking reform met with less success, balked by opposition from the federal government, the courts, privately-owned newspapers and a coalition of the Liberal and Conservative parties.
- However, he did proceed to establish a government-owned banking chain, the Alberta Treasury Branches, which exist to this day, the only government banking system serving the public in North America.
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