Walter Russell Shaw

SHAW, O.C., M.B.E., LLD., WALTER RUSSELL, livestock held worker, livestock supervisor, farmer, and civil servant; b. 20 December 1887 in St. Catherine's, son of Alexander Crawford Shaw and Isobel Maynard; m. 1 June 1921 Margaret MacKenzie of Victoria, and they had three children, Margaret Eileen, Norma Katherine, and Walter Maynard; United; d. 29 May 1981 in Charlottetown. Shaw, a Conservative, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1959 for 1st Queens. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1962 and 1966. He was defeated in the general election of 1955 for 3rd Kings. In 1957 he was elected Leader of the Conservative party. On 1 September 1959, Shaw led the Conservatives to victory, winning 22 seats to the Liberals' eight. Premier Shaw served in that office and as President of Executive Council from 17 September 1959 to 28 July 1966. After more than three years as Leader of the Opposition, he announced his retirement on 13 December 1969, and in 1970 he retired from political life. Shaw's political career, which followed a long career as a civil servant, was paradoxical, particularly given the provincial political culture of the late 1950s and 1960s. He was a bureaucrat and a farmer, able to successfully resolve the incompatibilities of these two worlds by means of his popularity and his public rhetoric which appealed to rural Islanders. The fact that the two occupations in which he was engaged were accomplished with sincerity gave Shaw integrity. He was also regarded as a great speaker and frequently made an eloquent defence of Island values. When he assumed power, the Island was on the threshold of an unprecedented period of industrial and cultural development. Shaw was well- suited to be premier at this time, given the comfort level he had in rural areas and in managing the affairs of the province. He had to deal with the challenge of stimulating economic growth, while at the same time trying to preserve the traditional values that many Islanders valued. In the general election of 1962, Shaw became the first Conservative premier to win two consecutive terms since 1915. In 1959 the Conservative campaign platform advocated a commitment to progress, which included a plan to build a causeway connecting Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Shaw felt that the role of his Administration was to assist in the process of narrowing the social and economic gap between Islanders and other Canadians. He understood the importance of agriculture and fishing to the economy. The dilemma he faced was that the Island had relied heavily on agriculture and fishing, yet reliance on these industries had not allowed the province to achieve economic parity with other provinces. The question became how best to allow the primary industries to grow. Shaw's answer was to invest government money in the food processing industry and to revitalize the shipbuilding industry. In 1961 Shaw's government assisted in the construction of Seabrook Frozen Foods in New Annan and in 1963 the Administration invested in Langiey Fruit Packers in Montague. These food processing plants met with some success, particularly in comparison to another government-supported initiative, the Gulf Garden fish plant in Georgetown. The Shaw administration granted financial support to Bathurst Marine to also locate a shipbuilding operation to Georgetown. Due in part to mismanagement by the owner, both Gulf Garden and Bathurst Marine were bankrupt by 1967. In total, the province had invested $9.35 million in Georgetown without realizing the economic benefit for which the government strived. There were many other notable initiatives of the Shaw Administration. The regional high school system was established, a new provincial administration building was constructed, and the provincial civil service had its salaries and employment conditions improved. Shaw received his primary education at the school in St. Catherine's. Later he attended Prince of Wales College and the University of Toronto, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. He attended the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and excelled at livestock judging, public speaking, and athletics. While still a young man, Shaw participated in the harvest excursions to Western Canada, and during the First World War served with the 9th Siege Battery. From 1916 to 1919, he worked for the Department of Agriculture, and from 1919 to 1922 he edited an agricultural paper for Garden City Publishing in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec. In 1922 Shaw returned to the Island to work as a livestock field worker and later a livestock superintendent with the province's Department of Agriculture. During his tenure of service as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, numerous reforms and improvements were launched under his direction or as a result of his influence. Shaw was responsible for launching the Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture and served as its general secretary. He also was a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. He was the president of the Canadian Horticultural Council and chairman of the Council's Potato Committee. He was a member of the National Agricultural Advisory Committee. Shaw retired as Deputy Minister of Agriculture in 1954. While working in the civil service, he operated a farm, known as Strathnairn, in St. Catherine's. Shaw was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Foresters, and the Y's Men's Club, and served as Chief of the Island Clans. He was a member of the Rural Development Council of Prince Edward Island and a director of the Prince Edward Island Heritage Foundation. Shaw received many honours and was decorated by royalty on three occasions. In 1935 he received the Jubilee Medal, in 1950 he was awarded a Member of the British Empire and Citation, and a few years later he received a Coronation Medal. In 1971 Shaw became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He received honourary degrees from St. Dunstan's University and Mount Allison University, as well as the Canada Medal of Merit. In 1975 Shaw's memoirs, Tell Me The Tales, were published. In 1980 he was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame, and he stated that "he counted his induction into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame as the most gratifying of all his awards." Walter Shaw died 29 May 1981. Margaret Shaw was the daughter of Alexander MacKenzie of Victoria West.