John Edward Brownlee - Legacy

Legacy

As Premier, Brownlee is most remembered for the sex scandal that ended his career; his accomplishments are largely forgotten. Despite this, he is highly regarded by historians: Foster calls him "Alberta's greatest premier", citing in particular his successful negotiations for the transfer of resource rights to the provincial government as the cause of Alberta's subsequent prosperity. Journalist Ted Byfield concurs, noting that his willingness to confront the federal government sets him apart from Ernest Manning, another contender for the title. In 1980, the Edmonton Journal wrote that "he lasting political estate left by former Premier John Brownlee has made Alberta what it is today, one of Canada's wealthiest provinces fuelled by billions of dollars in oil and gas royalties." A University of Calgary undergraduate seminar in 2005 ranked Brownlee as the province's third greatest premier, behind Manning and Peter Lougheed.

Brownlee's impact is also felt through the organizations he participated in founding: the Alberta Wheat Pool remained an important player in Canadian agriculture until 1998, when it merged with Manitoba Pool Elevators to form Agricore Cooperative Ltd.. In 2001, this new company merged with the UGG to form Agricore United. In 2007, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool took it over, forming Viterra. Brownlee's vision, unique among the members of the Macmillan Commission, of a publicly controlled central bank became a reality in 1938, when the Bank of Canada shifted from private to government control.

Brownlee was buried at Evergreen Memorial Gardens near Edmonton. The provincial government's John E. Brownlee Building in Edmonton is named in his honour, as is the University of Alberta Faculty of Law's John E. Brownlee Memorial Prize in Local Government Law.