Philip Primrose

Philip Carteret Hill Primrose (October 23, 1864 – March 17, 1937) was a Canadian police officer and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.

Primrose was born in 1864 in Nova Scotia. He attended the Pictou Academy before graduating from the Royal Military College in 1885. Upon his graduation, he took up employment with the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) (later merged into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Over the 30 years he spent with the NWMP, he was stationed at many locations throughout the North-West Territories, serving as Superintendent on four separate occasions before his retirement from the force in 1915.

Primrose then moved to Edmonton and accepted the position of city police magistrate, a position he would hold for 20 years. Amongst other positions, during World War I he commanded the Edmonton Reserve Battalion of the Canadian Army. Although he had never actively participated in politics, in 1936 Primrose was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, a position he held for only 167 days before he died after a long illness.

Early life, education and career Primrose was born in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, He was named after a good friend of his father, Philip Carteret Hill. and settled in the Pictou area around 1815. He was a barrister and served a term on the Halifax City Council from 1853–1855. He was a descendant of the United Empire Loyalists. Primrose was appointed an Inspector of the North-West Mounted Police on August 1, 1885, and was sworn in on August 31 of the same year. In addition to serving as a "Mountie", he served as Justice of the Peace while stationed at Macleod. On May 13, 1900, he fined 31 "members of the sporting fraternity" $55 each, boosting the territorial treasury. Other activities included more community-oriented tasks, such as firefighting when permitted. After two months at Maple Creek, he took over the NWMP Macleod Department (today in Alberta) as Superintendent, serving there until 1913. He was president of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police Veterans' Association in 1922; he lobbied hard for adequate pensions for veterans. In 1927, Primrose was made a life member of the Army, Navy, and Veterans' Association in Edmonton.

Death and state funeral Philip C. H. Primrose died on March 17, 1937, in Edmonton, while still occupying the office of Lieutenant Governor, a post he had held for only 167 days. He was the first Lieutenant Governor of Alberta to die in office. He had suffered a heart attack, with pre-existing complications from a long, undisclosed illness. His state funeral, the first ever in Alberta, was held in Edmonton's First Presbyterian Church. The state funeral was said to have "set the precedent for others in the future." His NWMP command was described as a "model to the Force", while his police career had been described to have "won the confidence and respect of the public to an exceptional degree." John W. McDonald, Mayor of Macleod also stated, "Col. Primrose was one of the outstanding officers of the force. … He was a good citizen and a good police officer and a man of many admirable qualities." On January 12, 1970, the Primrose subdivision in Edmonton, Alberta, North of Whitemud Drive to 100 Avenue, west of 178 Street to RDA was named in his honour, although most of this area is now better known as West Edmonton Mall.