Judicial Bust Program

In 2002, the Legal Archives Society of Alberta (LASA) commissioned a sculptor to produce duplicate busts of the Honourable W.A. McGillivray, Chief Justice of Alberta from 1974 to 1984, to be placed in the courthouses in Edmonton and Calgary. Subsequently, a bust of the Honourable J. Herbert Laycraft, Chief Justice of Alberta from 1985 to 1991, was also completed, as were busts of retired Supreme Court of Canada Justices, the Honourable William Stevenson and the Honourable John C. Major. LASA received a great deal of support from the legal community and commissioned busts of former Supreme Court of Canada Justices, the Honourable Henry Gratton Nolan and the Honourable Ronald Martland. LASA also commissioned busts of the remaining Chief Justices of Alberta the Honourable Arthur Lewis Sifton, the Honourable Horace Harvey, the Honourable David Lynch Scott, the Honourable George Bligh O’Connor, the Honourable Clinton James Ford and the Honourable Sidney Bruce Smith. The appointment to Chief Justice of Alberta or the Supreme Court of Canada comes after demonstrated accomplishments within the legal profession and significant contribution to public service. A great deal of respect, honour and responsibility accompanies the role and the people who achieve this position should be duly recognized. By recognizing the achievements of some of Alberta’s most honoured citizens in such a permanent way, LASA celebrates the relationship between law and society in Alberta and inspires all citizens to achieve their goals. A duplicate set of sculptures are on display in the Edmonton and Calgary courthouses.

The Hon. Arthur Lewis Sifton – Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Calgary 1907-1910

Chief Justice of the North West Territories, Calgary, January 3, 1903 – September 16, 1907

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alberta, Calgary, September 16, 1907- May 25, 1910

Born: October 26, 1859 • Died: January 21, 1921

Arthur Sifton was born near London, Ontario. Along with his brother Clifford, he came of age in Winnipeg, where the family had moved in 1874 after their father John Sifton, a railway contractor, obtained a major contract on a government sponsored line that later become part of the Canadian Pacific. The family’s Liberal connections had helped land the railroad contract and the two Sifton boys were always party men to the core. Arthur Sifton attended Victoria College in Toronto and earned a BA, then articled in a Winnipeg law office and joined the Manitoba bar in 1883. He practiced briefly in Brandon with his brother before heading west to Prince Albert and then Calgary in 1889. Acting as town solicitor, Sifton drew up the 1894 City Charter for Calgary. Sifton became a partner with James Short, and went into Territorial politics as the member for Banff. He served in Frederick Haultain’s Territorial government as commissioner of public works and then as treasurer.

His appointment as Territorial Chief Justice in 1903, straight from politics and an undistinguished legal career, was controversial even at a time when patronage was a major factor in naming judges. The criticism did not seem to bother Sifton. Contemporaries, both political and judicial, spoke of Sifton’s “sphinx‑like countenance”. Sifton was noted for his sardonic humor and cynicism, often mocking the public life he participated in so successfully. Returning to politics in 1910 as Premier of Alberta, he demonstrated a strong progressive streak as well as sound political judgment.

As a trial judge, Sifton was the scourge of horse and cattle thieves, handing out severe sentences. As Chief Justice, however, Sifton did not seem much interested in leaving his mark on the court’s jurisprudence. At trial, he generally gave short, oral verdicts and seldom reserved to craft a written judgment, and rarely cloaked his decisions in case law or legal principles. The early appellate work of the Supreme Court was primarily left to Harvey, Stuart and Beck. Sifton rarely wrote the judgments for the court and almost never provided concurring reasons, unlike his opinionated colleagues. He supposedly liked to put his feet up and smoke a trademark black cigar while listening to counsel give their arguments, and rarely spoke up

The Hon. David Lynch Scott, K.C. – Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Edmonton 1921-1924

Judge, Supreme Court of the North West Territories, District of Northern Alberta, Calgary , September 28, 1894 – September 16, 1907

Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Edmonton, September 16, 1907 – September 15, 1921

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Edmonton, September 15, 1921 – July 26, 1924

Born: 1845 • Died: 1924

David Lynch Scott was the strong, veteran member of the Territorial Court. Born in Brampton, Ontario, in 1845, Scott had studied law at Osgoode and articled with his brother. He practiced in Brampton and Orangeville after joining the bar in 1870 and was mayor of Orangeville for two years. Scott was a true western pioneer, coming out to Regina in 1882, before it was the territorial capital, and was elected the first mayor of the town. He was the first advocate enrolled when the Territorial Law Society was formed in 1885. Scott served as the junior prosecutor in the trial of Louis Riel and the Cree chiefs, Poundmaker and Big Bear.

After Colonel Macleod’s death in 1894, Scott was named to the Territorial Court, a position he had sought, and he moved to Calgary. By 1900, he was the resident judge in Edmonton, where he was well‑liked, actively participating in the town’s social and cultural life. One legal historian has said that “he became a master of the short, incisive judgment”. Scott was less active on the Supreme Court en banc than his brothers Harvey, Stuart and Beck, and was perhaps a little eclipsed by these prolix and opinionated judges. Poor health may have played a part. Scott was off work for several months in 1909, for instance, and was frequently absent through the teens. This did not prevent Scott from being appointed Chief Justice of Alberta in 1921, however, ending his career at the pinnacle of the province’s judiciary but not without great controversy.

In 1908, the Alberta legislature amended the Supreme Court Act. It enlarged the Bench to six, although it was to be another four years before the Dominion appointed the additional judge. The amendment also required that the bench be split evenly between Calgary and Edmonton and the justices make their homes in the two cities, or very near. Special leave of the Lieutenant Governor was required if they wished to live elsewhere. The judges were therefore concentrated in the two busiest courts, though they still went on circuit to outlying judicial districts in their role as trial judges.

The Hon. Horace Harvey, K.C. – Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Edmonton 1924-1949

Judge, Supreme Court of the North-West Territories, Fort Macleod, Calgary, June 27, 1904 – September 16, 1907

Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Edmonton, September 16, 1907 – October 12, 1910

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alberta, Edmonton, October 12, 1910 – September 15, 1921

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Trial Division, Edmonton, Sept. 15, 1921 – Aug. 27, 1924

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Edmonton, Aug. 27, 1924 – Sept. 9, 1949

Born: 1863 • Died: 1949

Horace Harvey had a great intellectual interest in appellate work. Harvey was a farmer’s son from Elgin County, Ontario, born in 1863. His father, William, spent a term as the Liberal MP for Elgin East, a political legacy that served Horace well. Harvey attended the University of Toronto and earned a BA and then LLB before joining the Ontario bar in 1889. After four years eking out a living in Toronto, he answered the call of the west and went to Calgary, joining Peter McCarthy, a former partner of Senator James Lougheed. The young lawyer had difficulty getting established in Calgary, and in 1896, Harvey took the position of Registrar of Land Titles for southern Alberta. This led to his appointment as Deputy‑Attorney General of the Territorial government in 1900. Harvey pursued his duties with a quiet competence and genial demeanour that won him many supporters. He was intimately familiar with the Territorial Ordinances, drafting many of them.

In 1904, he was appointed to the Territorial Court as the resident judge for Southern Alberta, based in Fort Macleod. The climate there did not suit his wife Louise, and Harvey was able to move to Calgary in 1905, and then Edmonton in 1907. Harvey was destined to be a central figure of the Supreme Court of Alberta for almost four decades.

David Lynch Scott died on July 27th, 1924. One month later, Horace Harvey was appointed Chief Justice of Alberta and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Alberta. He had come back into his own. It was the beginning of remarkable 25‑year tenure as the undisputed head of the province’s appeal court. Other judges came and went, some strong, some not, but Harvey was the constant presence who defined over two decades of the Appellate Division. It increasingly became a court in Harvey’s image, conservative and orthodox in its approach to law. In his second term as the Chief Justice, Harvey was the dominant figure of the court in a way he had not been in the first.

The Hon. George B. O’Connor, K.C. – Chief Justice of Alberta, Edmonton 1950-1957

Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Edmonton, October 30, 1946 – January 13, 1957

Chief Justice of Alberta, Edmonton, January 25, 1950 – January 13, 1957

Born: 1883 • Died: 1957

Chief Justice O’Connor was born in Walkerton, Ontario in 1883. His father was sheriff of the surrounding judicial district and his mother a descendant of the city of Hamilton’s namesake. After finishing school in Walkerton, O’Connor took his law at Osgoode Hall and was the silver medalist upon graduation in 1905. Intent on coming west to practice, he wrote the Northwest Territories bar exam while on a train to Portland, Oregon to see the World’s Fair. From there O’Connor went to Edmonton. He didn’t have a good start in Alberta. Shortly after arriving, his silver medal was stolen.

O’Connor landed on his feet, entering into a partnership with one of Edmonton’s leading citizens, W.A. Griesbach, who served as a major‑general during World War I and was then a Member of Parliament and Senator. George was named to the Alberta Supreme Court, Trial Division, in 1941. By the time O’Connor was elevated to the bench, he was one of the leading barristers in Edmonton. He was special counsel for the City of Edmonton. A familiar face at the Appellate Division, O’Connor also appeared before the SCC several times, the first occasion in 1915. He was made King’s Counsel in 1913, and served as a Law Society Bencher and head of the Edmonton Bar Association. O’Connor was not a flashy counsel, as near as can be judged, but he was very sharp and hard working. His fellow judge, Clinton Ford, said that O’Connor’s chief interest was the law to the exclusion of everything else. As counsel, his great strength was focusing on the crucial evidence and facts in a file.

As a trial judge, O’Connor penned some significant decisions, such as Majestic Mines v Alberta, an important judgment affecting the government’s ability to collect royalties from mineral rights which had significant implications for the oil and gas industry. In 1942, he acted as a mediator in a major strike in the coal industry. This led in turn to his appointment as chairman of the Wartime Labour Relations Board and its peacetime successor, the Canadian Labour Relations Board. O’Connor was promoted to the Appellate Division in October of 1946 as the replacement for Ewing. He spent two years under Horace Harvey’s tutelage, and then, despite being a relative newcomer to the Court, became his successor.

The Hon. Clinton James Ford, K.C. – Chief Justice of Alberta, Calgary 1957-1961

District Court of Southern Alberta, Calgary, May 6, 1942 – April 19, 1945

Supreme Court of Alberta, Trial Division, Calgary, April 19, 1945 – January 25, 1950

Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Calgary, January 25, 1950 – March 1, 1961

Chief Justice of Alberta, Calgary, January 17, 1957 – March 1, 1961

Born: 1882 • Died: 1964

George O’Connor’s promotion to Chief Justice meant another appointment to the Bench. Clinton Ford was a Calgary lawyer who started his judicial career on the District Court and later replaced O’Connor as Chief Justice of Alberta in 1957. Ford was the first Chief Justice since Sifton to be headquartered in Calgary rather than Edmonton.

Clinton James Ford was not related to Frank Ford, his senior on the appellate bench, although they were both from Ontario. The younger Ford was born on a farm near Corinth, Ontario in 1882. After finishing school, he taught for a couple of years before enrolling in the University of Toronto. The winner of the Prince of Wales medal upon graduating in 1907, Ford was obviously destined for greater things. After two years at Osgoode Hall, Ford came west. He finished his law degree in the University of Alberta’s fledgling law program, graduating in 1910 and winning the gold medal for the highest marks on his bar exam. After a short time at the firm of Reilly and MacLean, Ford took the job of city solicitor for Calgary in 1913 where he soon established a good reputation and remained until 1922.

Returning to private practice, Ford teamed up with Leo H. Miller and Eric Harvie as Ford, Miller, and Harvie. Ford’s partner Harvie became fabulously wealthy on oil speculation after Leduc, but by that time Ford had become a judge. Before his appointment to the District Court in 1942, Ford had a successful general practice, acting as both barrister and solicitor. Ford was politically active, served as president of the Alberta Liberal Party, and made an unsuccessful stab at provincial office. Notably, he made one of the first political speeches broadcast on radio in the province. Community service was very important to Ford. He was the local president of the YMCA and served as its national vice‑president, sat on the executive of the Board of Trade for a decade, and spent over thirty years on the Board of Governors for Mount Royal College. A staunch Methodist, he was also a pillar of Calgary’s Central United Church. Ford’s humble upbringing may have been the source of one of his best attributes, his great fund of common sense, remarked upon by many. One of Ford’s three children, Helen, followed him into law at a time when women lawyers were still a rarity, graduating from the University of Alberta law school in the thirties and later practicing in Vancouver.

The Hon. Sidney Bruce Smith, Q.C. – Chief Justice of Alberta, Calgary 1961-1974

Supreme Court of Alberta, Trial Division, Calgary, January 8, 1959 – April 7, 1960

Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Calgary, April 7, 1960 – December 5, 1974

Chief Justice of Alberta, Calgary, March 15, 1961 – December 5, 1974

Born: 1899 • Died: 1984

Ford’s replacement was immediately at hand. Sidney Bruce Smith had served a brief apprenticeship on the Trial Division, appointed in 1959, and as an appellate judge, appointed in 1960. Diefenbaker then promoted Smith to Chief Justice of Alberta. Although a judicial neophyte, Smith had the qualifications. An active Conservative, Smith was acknowledged as a leading member of the Edmonton Bar. He almost missed a judicial career. In 1958, the Diefenbaker government appointed him chairman of the Board of Transport Commissioners, a position well‑suited to Smith who had appeared as counsel for the City of Edmonton at a number of freight rate hearings. He had gone so far as to buy a house in Ottawa, but ultimately turned down the post due to his wife’s poor health. Smith received his judicial post at the age of 59 and the distinction of being the first Alberta Supreme Court appointment by a Conservative government since A.A. McGillivray.

As well as being a leading Edmonton litigator, Smith had been a Bencher and President of the Law Society, and vice‑president of the Canadian Bar Association. Born in Toronto in 1899, Smith moved with his family to Edmonton in 1914. He went to the University of Alberta at the precocious age of 15, earned his bachelor’s degree in three years and then pursued law. At the time, the university offered a law degree but did not have a formal law school. Like his fellow students, Smith did his law the old‑fashioned way, entering into three years of articles with Frank Ford and attending lectures at the courthouse downtown. He had his call to the bar before receiving his degrees, in 1921 and 1922 respectively, and was the gold medal winner for his year.

In 1929, A.A. McGillivray invited Smith to join his firm in Calgary. This enhanced Smith’s reputation as a barrister. When McGillivray went to the bench, his protégé returned to Edmonton and joined the Parlee firm. One of the mainstays of his practice was the City of Edmonton. After Harry Parlee went to the bench, Smith became senior partner and litigator for his firm. Along with his extensive practice, Smith was very much involved in the community. Deeply religious, Smith was Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton.

As Chief Justice, Smith was personally involved in the design and building of Edmonton’s new law courts building, an imposing modernist design of poured concrete which was promptly dubbed “Fort Smith.”

The Hon. William A. McGillivray, Q.C. – Chief Justice of Alberta, Calgary 1974-1984

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Alberta, Appellate Division, Calgary, December 5, 1974 – June 30, 1979

Chief Justice of Alberta, Court of Appeal, Calgary, December 5, 1974 – December 16, 1984

Born: 1918 • Died: 1984

The new Chief Justice of Alberta, William Alexander McGillivray was appointed from “the street” to the highest judicial office in the province, this was a first for Alberta. Otto Lang announced McGillivray’s appointment himself in Calgary, clearly to showcase the federal government’s new approach. Apolitical (his sympathies claimed by Conservatives and Liberals both), McGillivray was very popular with the bar, acknowledged widely as a leading barrister in the province, and the announcement of the appointment was greeted with enthusiasm.

McGillivray was the first native-born Albertan to become Chief Justice. Born in Calgary in 1918, he was initially educated at a private school in Victoria, completed his high school in Calgary and then went to the University of Alberta. The young McGillivray was an avid tennis and badminton player and provincial champion in tennis and table tennis. He was also a dedicated hunter and fisherman, and remained so all his life. After earning his Bachelor of Arts in 1938, McGillivray entered law and graduated first in his class in 1941. His father, A.A. McGillivray had died only a few months before his graduation.

Back problems and the need to support his mother kept McGillivray out of the military. He articled in Calgary at the Fenerty and McLaurin firm and stayed there for the rest of his career as a practitioner, joining the bar in 1942. By the sixties McGillivray was probably the most respected counsel in Calgary, a classic courtroom lawyer. His strengths as a barrister included his ability to quickly analyze a problem to get to the essential issue, and most important, his exceptional talent at cross-examination. In discovery or the courtroom, McGillivray used a friendly, naïve, country bumpkin persona that would invariably lure witnesses into complacency and letting their guard down. Needless to say, this could be quite effective, especially with experts.

McGillivray’s courtroom persona was a reflection of an immensely gregarious and likeable man. He was genuinely unpretentious, refusing to take himself too seriously. On appointment, he answered a reporter’s question about his judicial principles with a quip: “I’m for motherhood and against crime.” However, while McGillivray might enjoy a good lawyer joke, he was quick to defend the law as an honourable and valuable profession. He took the obligations of his calling seriously, and reportedly drove his partners to distraction. He had an innate sympathy for the underdog and the underprivileged.

The Hon. J. Herbert Laycraft, O.C., Q.C. – Chief Justice of Alberta, Calgary 1985-1991

Supreme Court of Alberta, Calgary, Trial Division, July 31, 1975 – March 26, 1979

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Calgary, March 26, 1979 – June 30, 1979

Alberta Court of Appeal, Calgary, June 30, 1979 – December 31, 1991

Chief Justice of Alberta, Calgary, February 20, 1985 – December 31, 1991

James Herbert Laycraft became the 8th Chief Justice of Alberta on February 20th, 1985. Laycraft’s appointment ensured continuity for the Court and arguably elevated a fine appellate court to one of excellence. Widely admired as a jurist, Laycraft was considered one of the top legal minds in the province. There was little need to go outside the Court for a new chief. Laycraft inherited a collegial, productive and sometimes innovative Court and then added a new dimension to its leadership. In particular, Laycraft had a well-developed appreciation for the law-making role of a modern appellate court. His ideal was a court that settled the law in a clear, concise and consistent fashion through orderly and conscious development. This approach fit well in an era where the judicial role in the evolution of the law took on renewed emphasis.

Nowhere was this more evident than with the adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. As an entrenched part of Canada’s Constitution, it gave to Canadian judges new and novel responsibilities demanding great care and attention. It also had another consequence, expected or not – unprecedented public attention to the decisions of the courts. After the Charter’s arrival, judges on all courts, but especially the appellate courts, were often called on to strike off into new and uncharted territory.

Bill McGillivray’s sudden death at the end of 1984 was a shock. Many judges were on Christmas vacations. Herb Laycraft, who was on the West Coast, received a call from Sam Lieberman with the news and immediately returned to Alberta. As senior judge, Lieberman became the acting Chief Justice until February. At that time, the federal government announced Laycraft’s appointment as Chief Justice. Given his many talents, it was unfortunate indeed that Laycraft’s tenure was destined to last only seven years.

Laycraft was a logical choice as the new Chief Justice. Appointing him, however, posed a problem. Laycraft was taken aback when the Minister of Justice attached a condition: he would have to move to Edmonton. Since O’Connor, the position of Chief Justice had alternated between Calgary and Edmonton and it was Edmonton’s “turn.” Unwilling to uproot his family Laycraft supported by members of the Edmonton bench and bar, was allowed to remain in Calgary.

The Hon. H. G. Nolan, C.B.E., M.C., Q.C. – Supreme Court of Canada Appointee from Alberta 1956-1957

The Honourable Henry Grattan (Harry) Nolan was born in Calgary, Alberta, on May 5, 1893. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.A. in 1914. He fought in Europe during the First World War where he was wounded in Cambrai, France. In 1918 he received the Military Cross.

In 1921 he graduated with his second B.A. from Oxford University where he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He was called to the English bar and bar of Alberta in 1922. After moving back to Calgary, he practiced with the firm of Bennett, Hannah & Sanford. During the Second World War he was appointed deputy to the Canadian Army Judge Advocate General.

After the war, he was selected to be the Canadian prosecutor before the International Military Tribunal trying war criminals in the Far East. For his war-time service, Justice Nolan was created Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on March 1, 1956 where he served until his untimely death at the age of 64 on July 8, 1957.

The Hon. Ronald Martland, O.C., Q.C., LL.D – Supreme Court of Canada Appointee from Alberta 1958-1982

The Honourable Ronald Martland was born in Liverpool, England on February 10, 1907. He was the son of John Martland and Ada Wild. When he was four years old, his family immigrated to Canada and settled in Edmonton. He graduated from high school at the age of 14, but he was too young to attend university, so he worked as a page in the Alberta Legislature for two years. He then attended the University of Alberta and obtained a B.A. in 1926 and an LL.B. two years later. Awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, he pursued his studies at Oxford University, earning a B.A. in 1930 and B.C.L. in 1931. Upon his return to Edmonton in 1932, he was called to the bar of Alberta and joined the law firm of Milner, Carr, Dafoe & Poirier, with which he practiced for over 25 years. On January 15, 1958, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. He served on the Supreme Court for 24 years and retired on February 10, 1982. Justice Martland died on November 20, 1997, at the age of 90.

The Hon. William A. Stevenson, O.C., Q.C., LL.D – Supreme Court of Canada Appointee from Alberta 1990-1992

The Honourable William A. Stevenson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on May 7, 1934. He is the son of Alexander Lindsay Stevenson and Eileen Harriet Burns. He studied at the University of Alberta, obtaining a B.A. in 1956 and an LL.B. the following year. Called to the bar in 1958, he joined the law firm of Morrow, Morrow & Reynolds in Edmonton. In 1959 he was counsel in the last case from Canada to be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, England. He became a lecturer at the University of Alberta in 1963 and a full-time professor of law five years later. In 1970 he returned to private practice but continued to lecture on law. He was the author of many legal texts and a founding editor of the Alberta Law Review. He was appointed to the District Court of Alberta in 1975 and to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in 1979. A year later, he was appointed to the Alberta Court of Appeal, and on September 17, 1990, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice Stevenson served on the Supreme Court of Canada for nearly two years before retiring on June 5, 1992. He continues to live in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Hon. J. C. Major, LL.D., Q.C. – Supreme Court of Canada Appointee from Alberta 1992-2005

The Honourable John Charles (Jack) Major was born in Mattawa, Ontario, on February 20, 1931. He received a B.Comm from Loyola University (Concordia University) in 1953. He enrolled in law school at the University of Toronto where he received an LL.B in 1957. He was called to the Alberta bar in 1958 and practiced with the firm of Bennett, Jones, Verchere as a partner for 34 years.

He served as counsel to the Canadian Medical Protective Association, 1971-91; senior counsel for the City of Calgary Police Service, 1975-85; counsel at the CCB and Northland Bank (Estey Commission); and was senior counsel for the Province of Alberta at the Code Inquiry into the collapse of Principal Group of Companies, 1987. In 1991 he was appointed to the Alberta Court of Appeal where he served until his appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada on November 13, 1992.

He returned to Bennett Jones LLP following his retirement on December 25, 2005. Justice Major has been awarded honourary Doctorate of Law degrees from Concordia University, the University of Calgary, and the University of Toronto. In 2006 he was appointed to head the inquiry into the Air India Bombing of Flight 182.