Edith Rogers

Member of the Legislative Assembly

Rogers won the seat with 2,295 votes, more than 1,400 ahead of Brownlee. In fact, the UFA lost every seat it contested, and Social Credit candidates won 56 of Alberta's 63 seats. Aberhart became premier. He did not appoint Rogers (or any other woman) to his cabinet, and Athabasca University historian Alvin Finkel has suggested that her gender cost her such an appointment.

Despite her loyalty to Aberhart, Rogers became frustrated with his delay in implementing the social credit economic reforms he had promised. During the 1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt she sided with the insurgents who threatened to bring down the government unless it took concrete steps to implement social credit. Once the insurgents reached a settlement with Aberhart, she returned to her former position of loyalty.

She sought re-election as a Social Crediter in the 1940 election. Prior to this election, Social Credit's opponents, including Liberals, Conservatives, and those elements of the UFA that had not moved to Social Credit, formed the People's League, which ran nominally independent candidates.

Later life

After her defeat, Rogers and her husband moved to Edmonton.

Rogers was elected to the board of Edmonton Public Schools in the 1959 Edmonton election as a candidate of the left-leaning Civic Reform Association (CRA). When the CRA dissolved in advance of the 1961 election, she joined the newly formed Quality Education Council. She was re-elected in 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, and 1971.

When the Quality Education Council dissolved, she ran as an independent in the 1971 election, and retained her seat one last time.

Retiring from politics after 20 years, she did not seek re-election in the 1974 election.

She was also author of the book Pioneers of the West.

Edith Rogers died July 17, 1985. She was predeceased by her husband, William Rogers, who died November 7, 1968.

Electoral record