at Pacific Command Headquarters. Following the war he moved to Red Deer where he established a law partnership. In 1954, Red Deer Member of the Legislative Assembly David Ure died. Ure had held the seat for Social Credit since the party swept to power in 1935 and was Minister of Agriculture. Kirby contested the seat for the Conservatives and defeated Social Credit candidate William Ure, the deceased MLA's younger brother, by 234 votes in the by-election. Kirby was returned to the Alberta legislature in the 1955 provincial election and became leader of the three man Conservative caucus in 1958 with hopes of mirroring the victory of John Diefenbaker's federal Progressive Conservatives who had won a crushing victory in the 1958 federal election wiping out the federal Social Credit Party in the process. Despite having the backing of Diefenbaker and the Calgary Herald, the 1959 provincial election proved to be a fiasco for the renamed Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. The Social Credit government of Ernest Manning was re-elected with an increased majority and, even though the size of the legislature had expanded, the Tories were reduced to a single seat despite more than doubling their share of the popular vote. Kirby lost his own seat to William Ure by almost 3,000 votes. Kirby resigned as party leader in January 1960 and was appointed to the Supreme Court of Alberta (Trial Division), later the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. In 1967, Justice Kirby was named by Premier Manning to conduct a one-man inquiry into allegations of influence peddling by Social Credit cabinet minister Alfred Hooke and former treasurer Edgar Hinman. Kirby's report, following an eight-month investigation, cleared the two men of wrongdoing, but scolded them for an "imprudent" mixing of public affairs and private business. He retired from the bench on his 75th birthday in 1984. References 1909 births 2003 deaths Canadian postmasters Canadian schoolteachers Judges in Alberta Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta Politicians from Calgary Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs University of Alberta alumni University of British Columbia alumni Canadian King's Counsel