Myrna Fyfe (2)

After almost five years on council, she left public life to pursue a master’s degree in community development at the University of Alberta. She postponed the degree to work for the federal Indian Affairs department in 1976, at which time she was asked by many in her community to seek the Conservative nomination for the Alberta Legislature against the sitting MLA of St. Albert. She would win the majority of the votes at the nomination meeting and would go on to be easily elected in 1979 as the first woman MLA in St. Albert’s history.

Once in the legislature, Fyfe was involved in many committees, becoming the chair for most of them, including in the fields of education, hospitals and medical care, native affairs, senior citizens, workers compensation, occupational health and safety. She represented her consistency with respect to transportation, annexation, communication, recreational funding, capital funding for schools and hospitals and public buildings (e.g. St. Albert Place).

After finishing two terms as MLA in 1986, Fyfe would leave public office to be appointed as the President of the University Hospital Foundation, serving in that role for 22 years. She led the way in raising hundreds of millions of dollars for the hospital. In 2007, she received the Capital Health President’s Award for lifetime achievement in health and wellness. She also provided counsel during the startup of the Capital Health Region. She retired in June 2008.

We are nominating Myrna Fyfe under the citizenship category for her contributions to civic life. Her contributions to St. Albert and Alberta, as a councillor and MLA, show her commitment to public service.

What makes it more remarkable is being the first woman to serve on City Council and the first woman to represent St. Albert as a MLA, paving the way and inspiring other women to enter public life.