Albert Edward Smith (October 20, 1871 – 1947), known as A. E. Smith, was a Canadian religious leader and politician. A social gospeller, Smith was for many years a minister in the Canadian Methodist Church before starting his own "People's Church". He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1922 as a Labour representative. In 1925, he became a member of the Communist Party of Canada. Early life Smith was born on October 20, 1871, in Guelph, Ontario, the son of William George Smith and Elizabeth Bildson, working-class immigrants from England. He worked as a machinist's apprentice and later a bookbinder to contribute to the family's income. His family later moved to Hamilton, where he developed an interest in religion after joining the Gore Street Methodist Church. After passing an oral examination, he became a lay preacher in 1888. In 1890 Smith was transferred to MacGregor, Manitoba, to begin field work. His appointment came from James Woodsworth, and father of J. S. Woodsworth. Smith was a vocal supporter of Thomas Greenway's Liberal government in Manitoba during the 1890s. During the Manitoba Schools Question, he defended the Greenway government's decision to remove funding from French-language denominational schools. Ordination After three years' work as a probationer, Smith enrolled as a student for the ministry at Wesley College in Winnipeg in 1893. He was formally ordained to the ministry in 1897. He married Maude Mercy Rogers in 1898, with whom he would have seven children. After working in Dauphin, Manitoba, and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Smith was stationed at the MacDougall Memorial Methodist Church in north-end Winnipeg in 1902. Left-wing politics Smith's political views now turned to labour, and he spoke in support of Labour MP Arthur Puttee's re-election in the 1904 federal election. Smith left Winnipeg in 1906, and moved to Portage la Prairie. In 1910, he accepted ministerial work in Nelson, British Columbia. He spoke at Socialist Party gatherings, and became acquainted with Jack Johnstone, later a leading figure in the Communist Party of the United States. Smith returned to Manitoba in 1913, to accept a position as minister of the wealthy First Methodist Church in Brandon. Smith was an advocate of church union with the Presbyterians throughout the 1910s. In 1925, this union came about via the creation of the United Church of Canada. Smith was asked to consider running in the 1917 federal election as a supporter