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{{Short description|Premier of Alberta from 1985 to 1992}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|
| image = Premier Don Getty.jpg▼
| birth_name = Donald Ross Getty▼
| name = Don Getty
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|AOE|size=100%}}
|
|
| caption = Getty in the 1990s
| order = 11th
| term_start = November 1, 1985
| term_end = December 14, 1992
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| lieutenant_governor = [[Helen Hunley]]<br />[[Gordon Towers]]
| office1 = [[Member of the Legislative Assembly|Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta]]
| constituency4 = [[Stettler (provincial electoral district)|Stettler]]
| term_start4 = May 9, 1989
| term_end4 = December 14, 1992
| predecessor4 = [[Brian C. Downey|Brian Downey]]
| successor4 = ''District abolished''
| constituency2 = [[Edmonton-Whitemud]]
| term_start2 = August 30, 1971
| term_end2 = March 14, 1979
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 = [[Peter Knaak]]
| constituency3 = [[Edmonton-Whitemud]]
| term_start3 = December 11, 1985
| term_end3 = March 20, 1989
| predecessor3 = [[Robert Keith Alexander|Robert Alexander]]
| successor3 = [[Percy Wickman]]
| constituency1 = [[Strathcona West]]
| term_start1 = May 23, 1967
| term_end1 = August 30, 1971
| predecessor1 = [[Randolph McKinnon]]
| successor1 =
| office6 = [[List of Alberta provincial ministers#Minister of Energy|Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]]
| term_start6 = March 1975
| term_end6 = March 1979
| predecessor6 =
| successor6 = [[Merv Leitch]]
| office5 = [[List of Alberta provincial ministers#Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations|Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs]]
| term_start5 = September 10, 1971
| term_end5 = March 1975
| predecessor5 = ''
| successor5 = [[Lou Hyndman]]
▲| birth_name = Donald Ross Getty
| birth_date = {{birth date |mf=yes|1933|08|30}}
| birth_place = [[Westmount, Quebec]], Canada
| death_date =
| death_place = [[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], Canada
| party = [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Progressive Conservative]]
| spouse = Margaret Mitchell
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| occupation = Businessman, professional athlete
|module=
{{Infobox
|name = Donald Ross Getty
|image = 1956 Grey Cup victory.jpg
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|Honors = Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour, 1992
}}}}
'''Donald Ross Getty'''
As Premier, Getty was faced with an economic slowdown and falling energy prices, which hit [[Alberta]]'s [[petroleum]]-dominated economy hard. Faced with mounting government deficits and increasing unemployment, he cut social spending and intervened with government money to prevent businesses from failing. Several of these interventions backfired in high-profile fashion, failing at their intended objective and costing scarce public funds as well. While some analysts argue that Getty's fiscal program laid the groundwork for [[Ralph Klein]]'s later balancing of the provincial budget, on Getty's departure from office the government's debt had reached $11 billion, setting the stage for his successor to characterize the Getty years as an era of wasteful and excessive spending.
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== Early life ==
Don Getty was born on August 30, 1933, in [[Westmount, Quebec]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Don Getty|date=February 14, 2008|encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|publisher=[[Historica Canada]]|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/donald-getty|access-date=August 27, 2019|archive-date=December 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214074033/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/donald-getty|url-status=live}}</ref> the son of Beatrice Lillian (Hampton) Getty (1910–1973) and Charles Ross Getty (1909–1974).<ref name="pc563">Perry, Craig 2006, pg. 563</ref> His father had dropped out of [[McGill University]]'s medical school due to the [[Great Depression]] and worked a variety of jobs—sometimes more than one at a time—to support his wife, three sons, and two daughters. Getty's childhood was spent in [[Verdun, Quebec|Verdun]], [[Toronto]], [[Ottawa]], [[London, Ontario|London]], and [[Agincourt, Toronto|Agincourt]], sharing a three-room apartment with his seven-member family in the last. Returning for London in time for high school, he became an accomplished athlete (drinking [[eggnog]] to gain enough weight to play football) and was elected students' council president. Sports were his passion, and he was an especially great fan of the [[Montreal Canadiens]] and of [[Toronto Argonauts]] running back [[Royal Copeland (Canadian football)|Royal Copeland]].
=== Football ===
After graduating, Getty enrolled to study business administration at the [[University of Western Ontario]], where he became a [[Canadian football|football]] star and a member of The [[Kappa Alpha Society]].<ref name="Lisac_2004">{{cite book |last=Lisac |first=Mark |editor=Bradford J. Rennie |title=Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century |year=2004 |publisher=Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina |location=[[Regina, Saskatchewan]] |isbn=0-88977-151-0 |pages=231–232 |chapter=Don Getty }}</ref> He quarterbacked the [[Western Ontario Mustangs]] to Eastern Collegiate Union Championships in 1954 and 1955,<ref name="60 years">{{cite web |url=http://www.esks.com/Team/60Seasons/Players/tabid/141/Default.aspx |title=60 seasons of Eskimo Greats |work=[[Edmonton Eskimos]] |access-date=2008-06-23|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080801002947/http://www.esks.com/Team/60Seasons/Players/tabid/141/Default.aspx |archive-date = August 1, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was awarded the Claude Brown Memorial Trophy as the outstanding athlete at UWO in 1955.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.westernmustangs.ca/sports/2009/7/8/GEN_0708093516.aspx?tab=awardsexcellence |title=The Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy and F.W.P. Jones Trophy Winners |work=[[University of Western Ontario]] |access-date=2015-06-07 |archive-date=2015-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607121141/http://www.westernmustangs.ca/sports/2009/7/8/GEN_0708093516.aspx?tab=awardsexcellence |url-status=live }}</ref> He also played [[basketball]], and was part of championship teams in that sport in 1952, 1953, and 1954.<ref name="60 years"/> A week after his 1955 graduation, he married Margaret Mitchell, his high school sweetheart. The [[Edmonton Eskimos]] had offered Getty a professional contract, so the newlyweds drove out west in an old blue [[Buick]].<ref name="Lisac_2004"/>
While still playing football, Getty was hired by [[Imperial Oil]] in 1955. He worked for Midwestern Industrial Gas Limited, beginning in 1961 as Lands and Contracts Manager with a promotion to Assistant General Manager following in 1963. In 1964 he founded his own company, Baldonnel Oil and Gas Company, before entering the world of finance as a partner with Doherty, Roadhouse, and McCuaig investments in 1967.<ref name="AB Heritage">{{cite web |url=http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/people/prem_getty.html |title=The Honourable Donald Getty |work=Heritage Community Foundation |access-date=2008-07-09 |archive-date=2008-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323064707/http://www.abheritage.ca/abpolitics/people/prem_getty.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== MLA and cabinet minister ===
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== Premier ==
Getty was appointed Premier November 1, 1985. He returned to the [[Legislative Assembly of Alberta|legislature]] just over a month later, winning a by-election in his old riding of Edmonton-Whitemud. As Premier for nearly seven years, Getty presided over some of Alberta's toughest economic times. His time in office was characterized by attempts to reduce the government's [[budget deficit]] and interventions calculated to stabilize the economy during the [[recession]] of the 1980s. When Getty became Premier he left his [[Lougheed Ministry|predecessor's cabinet]] completely intact.<ref name="oathprem">{{cite news|title=Getty takes oath as Alberta premier|publisher=Winnipeg Free Press|page=37|work=Vol 113 No 319 |date=November 2, 1985}}</ref>
=== Budget deficit ===
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=== Intergovernmental and constitutional affairs ===
As a former Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs, Getty had strong views about constitutional matters, and about [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] reform in particular. He made the cause the centrepiece of Alberta's constitutional policy going into the [[Meech Lake Accord]] discussions.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|238}} The Accord's final version included a provision whereby the [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] would continue to recommend senatorial appointments to the [[Governor-General of Canada|Governor-General]], but would have to make their recommendations from lists provided by the provincial governments.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|238}} Once it became apparent that the Meech Lake Accord would fail, Getty's government introduced the ''Senatorial Selection Act'', which provided for an election process whenever there was a vacant Senate seat for Alberta.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|239–40}} However, Getty's favoured candidate, Progressive Conservative [[Bert Brown]], was soundly defeated by [[Stan Waters]] of the upstart [[Reform Party of Canada]], which opposed Meech Lake and favoured aggressive senate reform.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|246}} Though Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] opposed the legislation, he eventually recommended Waters for appointment to the Senate.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|239–40}} Getty was still more successful at pursuing senate reform during the negotiations for the [[Charlottetown Accord]], when he won the addition of a [[Triple-E Senate]] to the package, against Mulroney's opposition.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|251}} However, the Charlottetown Accord failed after a national referendum in which a majority of Canadians, including 60.2% of Albertans, rejected it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/Proposals/charlottetown-res.html |title=Charlottetown Accord Referendum Results |work=The Solon Law Archive |access-date=2008-07-12 |archive-date=2008-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006234219/http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/Proposals/charlottetown-res.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1991, Getty's Progressive Conservatives formally severed ties with the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]], which was becoming increasingly unpopular under Mulroney.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|240}} Getty also broke with Mulroney on a number of issues other than Senate reform, including the new federal [[Goods and Services Tax (Canada)|Goods and Services Tax]], which he fought unsuccessfully against implementing.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|240}} His government also implemented legislation, against Mulroney's express wishes, that made English the only official language of Alberta.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|240}} Despite these steps, Getty remained a supporter of the federal Conservatives (and not the Reform Party, to which many provincial P.C.s were defecting), whose unpopularity rubbed off on him.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|240}}
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=== Political style ===
In contrast to his predecessor, who was actively involved in most elements of his government, Getty preferred to set the government's broad direction and leave lower-level details to his ministers.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|237}} [[Ralph Klein]], while serving as Environment Minister under Getty, commented that "If you are a minister, you run that portfolio yourself" and expressed an appreciation for the freedom that the Premier gave [[Getty Ministry|his cabinet]].<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|248}} [[Al Adair]], who served in two different portfolios under Getty, described this approach in his memoirs as "you make the decisions, you run your department, but make mistakes and you're gone".<ref name="Adair 99">{{cite book |title=Boomer: My Life with Peter, Don and Ralph |last=Adair |first=Al |author2=Frank Dolphin |author-link=Al Adair |year=1994 |publisher=Polar Bear Publishing |location=[[Edmonton]] |isbn=0-9698741-0-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/boomermylifewith0000adai/page/99 99] |url=https://archive.org/details/boomermylifewith0000adai/page/99 }}</ref> Lisac credits him for knowing when to intervene and when not to,<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|247}} but Adair felt that his approach led to ministers working too much in isolation.<ref name="Adair 99"/>
Getty was a private, reserved person, which, combined with his tendency to delegate to ministers, sometimes gave the impression of an uncaring aloofness.<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|238}} During the Principal Group affair, which he left primarily in the hands of Treasurer [[Archibald D. Johnston|Dick Johnston]] and Consumer and Corporate Affairs Minister [[Elaine McCoy]], a photographer captured a shot of Getty playing golf while his press secretary had said that he was "working out of the office".<ref name="Lisac_2004" />{{rp|242}} This was typical of his strained relationship with the media, which Adair attributed to the Premier's awkwardness and the media's unfairness.<ref name="Adair 99"/><ref name="Adair 163">Adair 163</ref>
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==Professional football career==
Getty played 10 seasons with the [[Edmonton Eskimos]] as a [[quarterback]]. For the first part of his career, he backed up [[Jackie Parker]] and filled in for him when he was moved to [[running back]].<ref name="CFLapedia">{{cite web |url=http://cflapedia.com/Players/g/getty_don.htm |title=Don Getty |work=CFLapedia |access-date=2008-07-10 |archive-date=2011-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004150007/http://cflapedia.com/Players/g/getty_don.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Eskimos coach [[Pop Ivy]] surprised many observers when he started Getty at quarterback in the third game of the 1956 western final (which was a three-game series at the time) during the [[44th Grey Cup]], with Parker at running back.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/page/his_legends_ivy |title=Don Frank (Pop) Ivy |first=Ted |last=Soutar |access-date=2015-06-07 |work=CFL.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607135652/http://www.cfl.ca/page/his_legends_ivy |archive-date=2015-06-07 }}</ref> However, it bore results as Parker tied the record for most touchdowns scored in a Grey Cup game, at three.<ref name="1956 Cup">{{cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/page/his_greycup_recap1956 |work=CFL.ca |title=1956 – Edmonton Eskimos 50, Montreal Alouettes 27 |access-date=2008-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126183348/http://www.cfl.ca/page/his_greycup_recap1956 |archive-date=2009-11-26 }}</ref> Getty also handed the ball to [[Johnny Bright]] for two touchdowns and scored two himself on quarterback keeps from the one-yard line, as the Eskimos won their third consecutive championship over the [[Montreal Alouettes]] by a score of 50–27.<ref name="1956 Cup"/> He continued with Eskimos until 1963, and also made three appearances in the 1965 season.<ref name="CFLapedia"/>
Getty was one of the most successful Canadian-born quarterbacks in the history of the [[Canadian Football League]] and sits at third on the all-time passing yardage list of Canadian quarterbacks, behind [[Russ Jackson]] and [[Gerry Dattilio]], with nearly nine thousand yards. He was declared the outstanding Canadian player in the [[Western Interprovincial Football Union]] in 1959, and was the runner up (to Jackson) for the [[CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award|Schenley Award]] as the league's most outstanding Canadian player the same year.<ref name="CFLapedia"/> He was placed on the Eskimos' Wall of Honor in 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esks.com/page/history-woh |title=Eskimo Wall of Honour |access-date=2015-06-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028173300/http://esks.com/page/history-woh |archive-date=2010-10-28 }}</ref>
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In July 2008, after [[Ed Stelmach]] announced $2 billion in funding to industry to develop [[Carbon capture and storage|carbon capture]] technology, Getty's company sought some of the funding to bury [[carbon dioxide]] in salt caverns near [[Two Hills, Alberta|Two Hills]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=a4caf2d3-54c4-4ad6-98c0-eaaeedd11ccf |work=Calgary Herald |first=Jason |last=Fekete |title=Getty's company plans storage venture |date=July 11, 2008 |access-date=2008-07-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104160123/http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=a4caf2d3-54c4-4ad6-98c0-eaaeedd11ccf |archive-date=November 4, 2012 }}</ref>
==Honours==
He was appointed as an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]] on 21 October 1998. He was appointed as a Member of the [[Alberta Order of Excellence]] in 1999. He received the Canadian version of the [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] in 1977, the [[125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal]] in 1992, the Canadian version of the [[Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal]] in 2002 and the [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]] in 2012.
In 2012 he was inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame in [[London, Ontario]], in recognition of his achievements in Canadian football.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://londonsportshalloffame.com/inductees/don-getty/ |title=Don Getty |publisher=The London Sports Hall of Fame |date=1933-08-30 |access-date=2016-02-27 |archive-date=2016-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311055139/http://londonsportshalloffame.com/inductees/don-getty/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On 19 November 2013 he received the [[honorary degree]] of [[Doctor of Laws]] from the [[University of Alberta]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.senate.ualberta.ca/HonoraryDegrees/PastHonoraryDegreeRecipients.aspx#G |title=Past Honorary Degree Recipients - University of Alberta |website=Senate.ualberta.ca |access-date=2016-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185921/http://www.senate.ualberta.ca/HonoraryDegrees/PastHonoraryDegreeRecipients.aspx#G |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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[[File:125canada ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]</div>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
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|[[File:Order of Canada (OC) ribbon bar.png|40px]] || [[Order of Canada]] (OC) ||
* Officer 21 October 1998.
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=3913&t=12&ln=Getty |title=The Governor General of Canada > Find a Recipient |website=Gg.ca |access-date=2016-02-27 |archive-date=2016-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307073517/http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=3913&t=12&ln=Getty |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Alberta Order Excellence ribbon bar.svg|40px]] || [[Alberta Order of Excellence]] (AOE) ||
* 1999
* <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca/Aoe/business/donald-getty/index.html |title=Donald Ross Getty | The Alberta Order of Excellence |website=Lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca |date=2011-03-30 |access-date=2016-02-27 |archive-date=2016-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328131437/https://www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca/aoe/business/donald-getty/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] ||
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* 2002
* Canadian version of this medal
* <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=42112&t=6&ln=Getty |title=The Governor General of Canada > Find a Recipient |website=Gg.ca |access-date=2016-02-27 |archive-date=2016-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307072943/http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=42112&t=6&ln=Getty |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|[[File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]] ||
* 2012
* Canadian version of this medal
* <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=103028&t=13&ln=Getty |title=The Governor General of Canada > Find a Recipient |website=Gg.ca |access-date=2016-02-27 |archive-date=2016-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307072534/http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=103028&t=13&ln=Getty |url-status=live }}</ref>
|}
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=== As MLA ===
{{1967 Alberta
{{1971 Alberta
{{1975 Alberta
{{1985 Alberta provincial by-
{{1986 Alberta
{{1989 Alberta
{{1989 Alberta provincial by-
=== Party leadership contest ===
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