Milt Pahl


Milton "Milt" George Pahl was a provincial level politician and current businessman from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1979 to 1986. During his time in office he sat as a member of the governing Progressive Conservative caucus. He served as a Member of the Executive Council as Minister without portfolio responsible for native affairs in the Government of Alberta from 1982 to 1986.

Political career

Pahl ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1979 Alberta general election. He won the new electoral district of Edmonton-Mill Woods with a landslide to pick up the seat for the governing Progressive Conservative party.
Pahl ran for a second term in office in the 1982 Alberta general election. He more than doubled his popular vote to be re-elected by a substantial margin. After the election Premier Peter Lougheed appointed Pahl to a position in the Executive Council of Alberta as Minister without portfolio responsible for native affairs. He kept that portfolio after Don Getty became premier in 1985.
Pahl was involved in a row with federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs David Crombie over the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation. The band was promised a settlement of land for a native reserve in 1940. After decades of unrest and negotiation Pahl declared the matter settled in a news conference to which Crombie denied. Pahl also announced that subsurface mineral rights will be included with all future land claims settlements with the Government of Alberta.
Pahl ran for a third term in office in the 1986 Alberta general election but was defeated in a closely contested election by Gerry Gibeault a candidate for the New Democrats.

Late life

After leaving politics, Pahl set up a scholarship in his name at the University of Alberta comprising contributions he received from his time in public office awarded annually to a student who completed the first year of the MBA program in the top half of their class.
Pahl is the current President of Native Venture Capital Company, Inc.