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W. A. C. Bennett
William Andrew Cecil Bennett PC OC (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician who served as the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett remains the longest-serving premier in British Columbia history. He was a member of the Social Credit Party (Socreds).
Notable achievements by the Bennett government included the adoption of BC's first provincial flag, the establishment of the second Bank of British Columbia, and the creation of BC Hydro and BC Ferries. Bennett led the Socreds to a total of seven consecutive election victories. Though he led the party to defeat in the 1972 election, his son Bill Bennett led it to victory in the 1975 election and served as premier until 1986.
William Andrew Cecil Bennett was born on September 6, 1900, in Hastings, New Brunswick, Canada, one of five children of Andrew Havelock Bennett and Mary Emma Burns. His father was a third cousin of Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada.
Bennett left formal school in grade nine, during the First World War, to take a job in a hardware store. As an adult, he pursued correspondence courses to improve his knowledge and job potential. He joined the Air Force, but the war ended before he saw active duty. At the age of 18, he and his family moved to Edmonton, Alberta, and then to Westlock, Alberta, where Bennett's father operated a hardware store.
In 1927 Bennett married Annie Elizabeth May Richards. In 1930 they moved to Victoria, and then Kelowna with their two children, Anita and R.J. A third child, William, was born in 1932. In Kelowna, Bennett joined such fraternal organizations as the local Gyro Club, Masonic Lodge, and the Kelowna Club, and was active with his family in the United Church of Canada.
He was usually referred to as W. A. C. Bennett, although some referred to him either affectionately or mockingly as "Wacky" Bennett. To his close friends, he was known as "Cece".[citation needed]
Bennett opened a hardware store in 1927, in partnership with another man, and married May Bennett soon afterwards. Bennett was able to sell his interest just before the 1929 Stock Market crash. He decided to leave the tough Alberta economic conditions and moved with his family to the Okanagan Valley, in the interior of British Columbia, settling in Kelowna. There he opened his own hardware store, known as Bennett's Hardware. A successful merchant, he served as President of the Kelowna Board of Trade from 1937 to 1939.
In 1932 Bennett, Giuseppe Guezzi, and Pasquale "Cap" Capozzi established a wine-making company to produce wine from the vast surplus of Okanagan apples that were going to waste during the Depression. Three years later Bennett and Capozzi, both teetotalers, concluded that there was no market for their apple wines. They switched to making wines from California grapes. In 1936 they established Calona Wines, the name a phonetic spelling of Kelowna. Bennett departed the company in 1940 to enter politics.
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W. A. C. Bennett
William Andrew Cecil Bennett PC OC (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician who served as the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett remains the longest-serving premier in British Columbia history. He was a member of the Social Credit Party (Socreds).
Notable achievements by the Bennett government included the adoption of BC's first provincial flag, the establishment of the second Bank of British Columbia, and the creation of BC Hydro and BC Ferries. Bennett led the Socreds to a total of seven consecutive election victories. Though he led the party to defeat in the 1972 election, his son Bill Bennett led it to victory in the 1975 election and served as premier until 1986.
William Andrew Cecil Bennett was born on September 6, 1900, in Hastings, New Brunswick, Canada, one of five children of Andrew Havelock Bennett and Mary Emma Burns. His father was a third cousin of Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada.
Bennett left formal school in grade nine, during the First World War, to take a job in a hardware store. As an adult, he pursued correspondence courses to improve his knowledge and job potential. He joined the Air Force, but the war ended before he saw active duty. At the age of 18, he and his family moved to Edmonton, Alberta, and then to Westlock, Alberta, where Bennett's father operated a hardware store.
In 1927 Bennett married Annie Elizabeth May Richards. In 1930 they moved to Victoria, and then Kelowna with their two children, Anita and R.J. A third child, William, was born in 1932. In Kelowna, Bennett joined such fraternal organizations as the local Gyro Club, Masonic Lodge, and the Kelowna Club, and was active with his family in the United Church of Canada.
He was usually referred to as W. A. C. Bennett, although some referred to him either affectionately or mockingly as "Wacky" Bennett. To his close friends, he was known as "Cece".[citation needed]
Bennett opened a hardware store in 1927, in partnership with another man, and married May Bennett soon afterwards. Bennett was able to sell his interest just before the 1929 Stock Market crash. He decided to leave the tough Alberta economic conditions and moved with his family to the Okanagan Valley, in the interior of British Columbia, settling in Kelowna. There he opened his own hardware store, known as Bennett's Hardware. A successful merchant, he served as President of the Kelowna Board of Trade from 1937 to 1939.
In 1932 Bennett, Giuseppe Guezzi, and Pasquale "Cap" Capozzi established a wine-making company to produce wine from the vast surplus of Okanagan apples that were going to waste during the Depression. Three years later Bennett and Capozzi, both teetotalers, concluded that there was no market for their apple wines. They switched to making wines from California grapes. In 1936 they established Calona Wines, the name a phonetic spelling of Kelowna. Bennett departed the company in 1940 to enter politics.