R. James Balfour was first elected in the 1972 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1972

The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...

 as a Progressive Conservative

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 Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Regina East

Regina East

Regina East was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1988.This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Humboldt—Melfort, Melville, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre, QuAppelle, Regina City and Yorkton ridings.It was abolished...

, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

. He also served in the Canadian Senate

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 from 13 September 1979 until his death.

He was born in Regina, Saskatchewan

Regina, Saskatchewan

Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...

. Balfour was educated at Luther College

Luther College (Saskatchewan)

Luther College is a college and high school located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The university portion of Luther College is located on the campus of the University of Regina and is a federated college. The high school is located at a separate site in the McNab neighbourhood of Northwest Regina...

 in Regina and at the University of Saskatchewan

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...

. He was called to the Saskatchewan bar in 1952. Balfour was named a Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 in 1969.

He was the grandson of James Balfour

James Balfour (mayor)

James Balfour was an educator, lawyer and political figure in Saskatchewan. He served as mayor of Regina, Saskatchewan in 1915 and 1931....

, a former mayor of Regina.