Alexander Cameron Rutherford

Alexander Cameron Rutherford was a Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician who served as the first premier of Alberta from 1905 to 1910. Born in Ormond, Canada West, he studied and practised law in Ottawa before he moved with his family to the North-West Territories in 1895. Besides his work as lawyer, he began a political career that saw him serve as member of the North-West Legislative Assembly and then as Liberal MLA, Liberal party leader, and premier of Alberta. During his premiership he laid the base for important elements of Alberta society even today, such as the University of Alberta. He lost the premiership in 1910 due to the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal and lost his Legislature seat in 1913. He later was prominent in the administration of the University of Alberta, beside which he and his family lived for decades. His home, Rutherford House, is an historic site on the grounds of the University of Alberta.