Hazen Argue

Who was Hazen Argue?

Hazen Robert Argue, PC was a Canadian politician based in Saskatchewan who served in Ottawa for 43 years at various levels of Canada's federal government. He was first elected as a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Member of Parliament in 1945 and ended his career as a Liberal Party Senator. He was the last leader of the democratic socialist CCF, from 1960 to 1961. He was briefly a member of the CCF's follow-on organization, the New Democratic Party, before crossing the floor in the House of Commons to become a Liberal MP in 1962 until his defeat in 1963. He was appointed, by Governor General Georges Vanier, on the advice of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, as a federal senator in 1966. He entered federal cabinet in 1980, as the only Saskatchewan representative, with responsibilities for the Wheat Pool. He became the first senator to have ever been charged with fraud, in 1989. The charges were eventually dropped, for health reasons, due to his year-long battle with cancer. He died shortly thereafter in 1991.