Walter van de Walle

Who was Walter van de Walle?

Walter van de Walle was a Canadian politician from Alberta and former member of the Canadian House of Commons.

Van de Walle was born to Belgian immigrants in the hamlet of Villeneuve on the shores of Big Lake, Alberta. He lived his whole life in the area, and married Fernande Préfontaine in 1950. In 1945, he moved to Legal in order to farm.

Van de Walle's political career began in 1958 when he was elected to the Sturgeon school division board of trustees, on which he served until 1965. In 1959, he was elected to the Sturgeon County council. He was re-elected in 1962, 1965, 1968, 1971 and 1974. He left municipal politics in 1977.

In 1985, Van de Walle was inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame for his advocacy of canola products and for starting a provincial program that urged farmers to use herbicides more responsibly.

In 1986, Peter Elzinga resigned his position as Member of Parliament for Pembina to run for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Van de Walle was nominated to be his replacement by the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and won a narrow upset victory over New Democrat Ivor Dent, a former Mayor of Edmonton.