Graham Edwin Price, K.C.
Calgary, Alberta
April 13, 1947 – January 12, 2024
On January 12, 2024, Graham Price, founder and long-time President of the Legal Archives Society of Alberta (LASA), passed away in Calgary, Alberta. In addition to being an excellent lawyer, Graham will be remembered by many, in and outside of the field of law, as being the driving force behind the establishment of LASA in January 1990.
Graham attended law school at the University of British Columbia and was admitted to the Law Society of Alberta on December 21, 1972. He received his Queen’s (now King’s) Counsel on December 31, 1999. He began his legal career in the Northwest Territories and was a member of both the Yukon and NWT bars.
As a young lawyer, Graham participated in the famous 1973 Paulette Caveat trial in Colville Lake, NWT. The case concerned an Indigenous land claim where the Dene community contested 400,000 square miles of land. The trial was in front of renowned “Judge of the North”, William Morrow and involved several Inuit witnesses with interpreters, which was unique for that time period.
Graham had a long interest in history that started during his undergrad at the University of Alberta. That interest continued through 1986 when Graham completed his Master of Laws at the University of Manitoba and wrote a thesis entitled Remote Justice: The Stipendiary Magistrate’s Court of the Northwest Territories (1905-1955), which examined the constitutional development of the NWT court system. His thesis remains a widely used source for LASA researchers.
Graham’s interest in Alberta’s legal history also had a practical application. He, along with Louis Knafla, then a Professor of History at the University of Calgary, collaborated to ensure the preservation of district and provincial courthouse records. The Alberta Legal History Committee at the Law Society of Alberta, working with the Public Records Committee and the Provincial Archives of Alberta, worked with the Attorney General’s Department to make sure that the records of Alberta’s Supreme Court were properly surveyed and preserved for generations to come.
In the late 1980s, Graham, along with a number of other lawyers, saw a need to preserve the history of the legal profession beyond just the official court records. An in-depth assessment concluded the need for a dedicated program that would preserve the history of both the legal and judicial professions in Alberta. Together with support from the Alberta Law Foundation and the Law Society of Alberta, these efforts were the impetus in the establishment of LASA. Graham became the Society’s first President in 1990 and remained in that position until 2009.
For nineteen years, Graham guided, and witnessed, the growth of LASA. Initially primarily just a repository for Law Society records, under Graham’s leadership and vision, LASA expanded, over time, to also become a destination repository for records from the private-sector legal community as well as the judiciary. Graham also guided LASA in initiating an Oral History program, the publishing of several books on Alberta’s legal heritage and the establishment of a Bronze a Bust program that recognized the Chief Justices of Alberta and Albertans who sat on the Supreme Court of Canada. Graham also was instrumental in establishing an interpretative exhibit program for the judicial districts in the province.
Following his time as President, Graham remained a passionate advocate for LASA. He continued to be a fixture at fundraising events, including LASA’s Annual Historical Dinners and volunteering for casinos. In 2015, he participated in LASA’s Oral History program, where he related in detail the genesis of the founding of LASA (although he characteristically downplayed his role) and the importance of preserving the history of the legal profession.
Over the years, Graham has donated historical memorabilia, along with photographs and trial books related to the NWT Kikkik trial (made famous by Farley Mowat’s 1959 book The Desperate People) and a number of famous early Alberta cases. While there are innumerable examples of Graham’s contributions to LASA, his enduring gift and contribution was the donation of his incomparable library to LASA in 2022. Anyone who visited Graham’s Crescent Heights home knew he was a bibliophile and collected books on legal history from all across Canada and around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States and many Commonwealth Countries. Graham envisioned a library that would compliment LASA’s archival holdings and would be a center for scholarly research and comparative study. That vision was accomplished.
Finally, LASA would like to say “thanks” to Graham’s family. Throughout the nineteen years Graham was LASA’s President his wife Carol, and son, Cairns, were always willing to help the Legal Archives Society when needed such as volunteering to assist with fundraising events and facilitating Graham’s library donation. LASA is very grateful for their support.
It is because of Graham’s interest and passion for history that LASA has become the primary repository for Alberta’s legal history as well as the destination for researchers looking to access the rich and valuable archival collections pertaining to Alberta’s legal and judicial communities. Future generations will forever benefit from Graham’s contributions to Alberta’s legal heritage.
