Dallas Schmidt

Dallas Wilbur Schmidt (August 9, 1922 – November 22, 2007) was a provincial level politician and Royal Canadian Air Force pilot from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1975 to 1982 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus. During his time in public office he served different cabinet portfolio's under the government of Peter Lougheed.

Schmidt served with the Royal Canadian Air Force enlisting on January 8, 1942. He was quickly shipped overseas to see action in World War II. During the war he served in the No.227 Squadron and flew a wide range of military aircraft used by Canada at the time. His aircraft was shot down by enemy fire on five separate occasions.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on October 5, 1942 for missions he flew over Europe. He returned to Canada in July 1945 and was released from service in September of that year. He also won the Bar of the Flying Cross that same year.

He re-enlisted with the Air Force and served his second stint from 1951 to 1956.

Schmidt first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1967 Alberta general election in the electoral district of Wetaskiwin. He was defeated by incumbent Albert Strohschein in a hotly contested race finishing a close second place.

Schmidt ran for the second time in the 1975 Alberta general election. This time he won the electoral district of Wetaskiwin-Leduc defeating three other candidates with a landslide margin to pick it up for the governing Progressive Conservative party.

After the election Premier Peter Lougheed appointed Schmidt to the Executive Council of Alberta as a Minister without Portfolio on April 3, 1975. He was appointed just over a year later as Associate Minister of Energy and Natural Resources responsible for Public Lands on August 26, 1976. He ran for re-election in the 1979 general election. He won a bigger margin of victory with his ministerial advantage winning his second term with a landslide.

Schmidt became a full minister after the election on March 23, 1979. He was promoted to Minister of Agriculture and served that position until he retired from provincial politics at dissolution of the legislature in 1982.