Berntson, Eric Arthur, 1941-2018

Identity area

Type of entity

Person

Authorized form of name

Berntson, Eric Arthur, 1941-2018

Parallel form(s) of name

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

Other form(s) of name

  • Eric Berntson

Identifiers for corporate bodies

Description area

Dates of existence

1941-2018

History

Eric Arthur Berntson was born on May 16, 1941 at Oxbow, Saskatchewan to Arthur Berntson and Johanna Larson. He received his early education at Glen Ewen, Saskatchewan and attended high school at Halifax, Nova Scotia. He later attended the University of Calgary.

After serving eight years as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force, Berntson moved to Calgary, Alberta, where he worked in electronic data processing for National Cash Register. He returned to Saskatchewan around 1972 and began farming in the Carievale district. Berntson was a member of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association and the Royal Canadian Legion.

Berntson was first elected to the Saskatchewan Legislature in 1975 and served as a Progressive Conservative MLA for the Souris-Cannington constituency until 1990. He was Leader of the Official Opposition in the Saskatchewan Legislature from 1979 to 1982. Berntson served in the Grant Devine Government as Minister of Agriculture (1982-1983); Minister of Economic Development and Trade (1983-1985); Provincial Secretary (1983-1990); Minister of Economic Development and Tourism (1989-1990) and Deputy Premier (1982-1989). He was Minister Responsible for numerous agencies, boards and commissions including Agricultural Development Corporation (1982-1990); Saskatchewan Water Corporation (1985-1986); Souris Basin Development Authority (1986-1989); Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation (1988-1990) and Crown Investments Corporation (1987-1990).

Berntson resigned from Cabinet on April 10, 1990 and vacated his seat in the Saskatchewan Legislature on July 19, 1990. On September 27, 1990, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Berntson served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1994 to 1997. He resigned his seat in the Senate on February 27, 2001.

Eric Berntson died at Ottawa, Ontario on September 23, 2018.

Places

Legal status

Functions, occupations and activities

Mandates/sources of authority

Internal structures/genealogy

General context

Relationships area

Access points area

Subject access points

Occupations

Control area

Authority record identifier

PA 314

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons, and Families

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

2008-05-15 (Creation). 2012-03-06 (Approval). 2017-11-29 (Revision) 2020-12-02 (Revision).

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

VIAF - no entry found
Canadian Parliamentary Guide
Saskatchewan Executive and Legislative Directory
Obituary published in the Leader-Post, Regina, September 26, 2018

Maintenance notes

Authority record revision completed by Laurie Fisher in 2020.