William Aberhart 1978 – 1943 was raised as a Presbyterian in Ontario and became famous as a Baptist preacher and radio evangelist in Alberta. As a magnetic personality known for his fiery sermons and speeches, Bible Bill Aberhart’s unlikely involvement in politics led him to form the world’s first Social credit government as Alberta’s premier from 1935-1943.

Trained as a public school teacher in Ontario, he taught in several schools and became a principal in Brantford. However, preaching and studying the Bible were his first love, so he devoted much of his time to these activities. Accepting a teaching position in Calgary, he became a Bible study teacher at a Presbyterian church but conflicts over doctrinal issues led him to Westbourne Baptist Church where he became a lay preacher and was baptized. Aberhart’s Bible studies were so popular, the church had to rent the Palace Theatre to hold his audience. By 1925, his popular sermons were broadcast on CFCN radio and reached across the prairies. In 1927, he became dean of the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute, as a centre for broadcasting, worship and bible study.

Drawn to politics during the depression and drought of the 1930’s that gravely affected farmers, he favoured a then-obscure economic theory called Social Credit, which tried to erase the gap between the costs of production and individual purchasing power. Aberhart founded Alberta’s Social Credit party and won the 1935 provincial election by a landslide. His party tried to gain control of the banks to control the supply of money, but was mostly unsuccessful, partly because banks are federally regulated. Aberhart died suddenly in Vancouver in 1943 and was replaced as Premier by his Bible Institute protégé, Ernest Manning, father of the federal Reform Party leader Preston Manning.