Grant Notley

The Social Conscience of Alberta, Second Edition

By: Howard Leeson, Rachel Notley

Narrated by: Gerald Gibson

Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Grant Notley, leader of Alberta's New Democratic Party from 1967 until his death in 1984, stood out in Alberta politics. His goals, his personal integrity, his obvious dedication to social change, and his "practical idealism" made him the social conscience of Alberta. His death in 1984 saddened Albertans of every political stripe.

In the society and politics of Alberta, Grant Notley stood out. He bridged the old and the new, he provided the necessary hard work to forge a link that ensured the continuation of a progressive social party in Alberta. Albertans felt intuitively that he represented a part of their collective being, and his untimely death in 1984 touched them deeply.

Educated in the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, but dedicated to the creation of the New Democratic Party, Grant Notley was one of the living links between the prairie populism of the CCF and the social democracy of the NDP; between the new urban base, and the remaining rural support; between the old leadership of the UFA, and the untested leaders to come.

Grant Notley commanded a tremendous personal loyalty from those who came in contact with him. What prompted such loyalty? How could a shy, solitary, and socially retiring person take such a grip on people? The answer lies somewhere in his hard work, his own devotion to social change, and in the ideals of those that he sought to enlist.

©2016 Howard Leeson (P)2021 The University of Alberta Press

Critic reviews

“This book provides some excellent context for understanding the [NDP] party and the groundwork that has led to its success.” (Alberta History)

“The University of Alberta Press has printed a second edition of this 1992 biography now more arresting given recent events. Author Howard Leeson, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Regina, recalls the man who might have smashed a Prairie political machine a generation before his daughter did.... Grant Notley is an affectionate tribute to a quiet, decent workaholic who might have become Alberta’s premier in 1986, and altered the whole course of his province and the Prairies.” (Holly Doan, Blacklock’s Reporter)

“Leeson…provides a key insight into Grant Notley’s time - the organization and electoral development of a new party.…The book's most compelling insight is...that effecting real change in politics - be it about reducing inequality, alleviating the suffering of the poor or diversifying the economy - requires getting elected to government.… Leeson effectively shows the considerable personal toll politics takes on an individual and their family.” (Melanee Thomas, Alberta Views)