Arthur Johnson Dixon,
CMThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(December 1, 1919 – February 5, 2007) was a real estate and insurance agent, and a former member of the
Legislative Assembly of AlbertaThe Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
from 1952 to 1975 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government and opposition. During his time in office Dixon served as the Speaker of the Alberta Legislature from 1963 to 1972.
Political career
Dixon ran for public office for the first time in the
1949 Canadian Federal ElectionThe Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
. He stood as a federal
Social CreditThe Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
candidate in the electoral district of
Calgary WestCalgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1953, and since 1979. It is located in the western part of the City of Calgary....
. Dixon was defeated finishing in third place in the three way race to incumbent
Arthur LeRoy SmithArthur LeRoy Smith Sr. was a barrister, inventor and a Canadian federal politician. He was born in Regina, Northwest Territories....
.
Three years later he tried again to win a seat in the
Canadian House of CommonsThe 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...
by contesting the by-election held on December 10, 1951. He again finished in third place losing to Progressive Conservative candidate
Carl NickleLieutenant Carl Olof Nickle was an editor and publisher, oil baron, soldier in the Canadian Army and served as a Canadian federal politician from 1951 to 1957....
.
A year later Dixon attempt to win a seat to the Alberta Legislature. He stood as a candidate in the
1952 Alberta general electionThe Alberta general election of 1952 was the twelfth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 5, 1952 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Ernest C...
and won the third place seat as a provincial
Social CreditThe Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values....
candidate in the electoral district of
CalgaryCalgary was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada that existed from 1905 to 1913 and was recreated from 1921 to 1959. The district returned from one to six members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta...
.
Dixon ran for a second term in office in the
1955 provincial electionThe Alberta general election of 1955 was the thirteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 29, 1955 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. He held his seat winning the sixth and final seat in the district.
The Calgary electoral district was abolished in the 1959 boundary redistribution. Dixon ran for his third term in office in the new single member electoral district of Calgary South East for the
1959 Alberta general electionThe Alberta general election of 1959 was the fourteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 18, 1959 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Ernest C...
. He defeated three other candidates including two Calgary Alderman
Ernest StarrErnest Henry Starr was a municipal level politician from Alberta, Canada.-Early life:Starr was born in Caerphilly, Wales. He served with the Imperial Army, Medical Corps during World War I in Egypt, Salonika and the Dardanelles...
and
Peter PetrasukPeter Petrasuk is a Canadian businessman, lawyer, and former politician.Born in Ukraine in 1926, Petrasuk came to Canada when his family immigrated in 1931...
to pickup the district for his party.
Dixon became Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, after the death of Peter Dawson. He ran for re-election in the
1963 Alberta general electionThe Alberta general election of 1963 was the fifteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 17, 1963 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.The Social Credit Party, led by Ernest C...
. Calgary South East was abolished, causing Dixon to run for re-election in the new district of Calgary South. He defeated two other candidates to easily hold his seat.
After the election Dixon continued with the confidence of the Assembly to remain as Speaker. He ran for a fifth term in the
1967 Alberta general electionThe Alberta general election of 1967 was the sixteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 23, 1967 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. In that race he defeated three other candidates including future
Prime Minister of CanadaThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
,
Joe ClarkCharles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
with under half the popular vote to hold his seat.
Calgary South was abolished in the 1971 boundary re-distribution. Dixon ran for re-election in the new electoral district of Calgary-Millican for the
1971 Alberta general electionThe Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. He managed to easily hold his seat, defeating three other candidates including star candidate
Norman KwongNorman Lim "Normie" Kwong, CM, AOE is a former professional athlete, sports executive, and was the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta...
.
As a result of the 1971 election the Social Credit government was swept out of power. Dixon was not returned as speaker of the Assembly when the legislature re-opened in 1972. Dixon remained a private member in opposition. He ran for re-election in the
1975 Alberta general electionThe Alberta general election of 1975 was the eighteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 25, 1975 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
but was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate
Thomas DonnellyThomas Charles Donnelly is a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1975 to 1979 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus....
finishing a distant second place in the six way race.
Dixon attempted to win his seat back in the
1979 Alberta general electionThe Alberta general election of 1979 was the nineteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 14, 1979 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. He once again finished a distant second place, this time to
David CarterDavid John Carter is a politician, clergyman, photographer and author from Alberta, Canada.Carter served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1979 to 1993...
.
Late life
Dixon founded
Dixon Real Estate Services Inc. while still working as an MLA in 1956. He managed the company until 1990 when his son Tom Dixon took over the business.
Dixon was made a Member of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
on June 25, 1979.
Dixon returned to the Alberta Legislature in 2006 with
Nick DushenskiNick William Dushenski was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1959 sitting with the Co-operative Commonwealth caucus in opposition....
and
Raymond ReiersonRaymond Reierson is a former provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government...
as the most senior members at the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Alberta Legislature. He died a year later on February 5, 2007.
Dixon was a Christian Scientist, and a long-time member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Calgary.
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