Alfred Dryden Hales was a Progressive Conservative party

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 member of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. He was born in Guelph, Ontario

Guelph

Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

 and became a butcher, meat cutter, farmer, manufacturer and merchant by career.

Hales graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

's Ontario Agricultural College

Ontario Agricultural College

The Ontario Agricultural College originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto...

 in 1934. He also played two seasons as middle wing for the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 in 1934 and 1935.

After an unsuccessful attempt to win the Wellington South

Wellington South

Wellington South was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 as the "South Riding of the county of Wellington"...

 riding in the 1953 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1953

The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...

, Hales became a Guelph city councillor in 1955. He campaigned again for Parliament in the 1957 election

Canadian federal election, 1957

The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative Party , led by John Diefenbaker, brought an end to 22 years of Liberal rule, as the...

. He was re-elected to consecutive terms at Wellington South, then from the 1968 election

Canadian federal election, 1968

The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...

 at Wellington

Wellington (electoral district)

Wellington was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1979.This riding was created in 1968 from parts of Wellington South and Wentworth ridings...

. His Parliamentary career ended in May 1974 after he completed his term in the 29th Canadian Parliament

29th Canadian Parliament

The 29th Canadian Parliament was in session from January 4, 1973 until May 9, 1974. The membership was set by the 1972 federal election on October 30, 1972, and it was dissolved prior to the 1974 election....

, and Hales did not campaign in the 1974 election

Canadian federal election, 1974

The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...

. He repeatedly introduced a Private Member's Bill

Private Member's Bill

A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...

 to create the Parliamentary Internship Programme until this was approved in 1969. Today, an annual award named in his honour is given by the Institute on Governance

Institute on Governance

Institute on Governance is a Canadian non-profit organization focussed on developing principles of better governance in the public sphere. IOG was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Ottawa, with a second office in Toronto, Ontario....

 to the best essay by a Parliamentary intern.

Hales chaired the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts from 1966 to 1974, following the tradition that such a chair be a member of the Official Opposition.

Wellington South

Wellington South

Wellington South was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 as the "South Riding of the county of Wellington"...

Wellington

Wellington (electoral district)

Wellington was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1979.This riding was created in 1968 from parts of Wellington South and Wentworth ridings...

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