William Egbert

Who was William Egbert?

William Egbert was a Canadian physician and politician. He served as the third Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 1925 to 1931.

Egbert was born in 1857 to a farming family in what is today the province of Ontario. He attended Ottawa Normal School, then taught and served as a principal at Ontario schools. After receiving his medical degrees, he began to practice in Milverton, Ontario. In 1904, he moved to Calgary, and involved himself in politics and community affairs as Alberta entered Confederation.

Egbert was an unsuccessful legislative candidate for the Liberal Party of Alberta in the 1905 general election. In 1925, the Liberal prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, arranged for Egbert's appointment as Lieutenant Governor. Egbert served six years in that post, and participated in a variety of activities, from welcoming the Prince of Wales to hosting students at the University of Alberta. In 1931, he left his position as Lieutenant Governor and returned to the practice of medicine. He died in 1936 after a long illness.