The Honourable Lois Elsa Hole was installed as Alberta’s 15th Lieutenant Governor on February 10th, 2000.
A prominent businesswoman, lifelong education advocate, best selling author and community supporter, Lois Hole was born and raised in Buchanan, Saskatchewan. She moved to Edmonton in her early teens and completed her secondary education at Strathcona Composite High School. Married to Ted Hole, she had two sons, Bill and Jim, and three grandchildren.
Over 50 years ago she and Ted bought a mixed farm on the Sturgeon River north of St. Albert which they eventually diversified into a vegetable and mixed garden business. In 1979 their sons joined the business full-time and the farm was incorporated as Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens Ltd.
In 1967 Mrs Hole began her formal support of lifelong education when she was elected as a trustee for the Sturgeon School Division, which she eventually served for 14 years both as a trustee and as Chairperson. From 1981 to 1998 she was a school trustee for the St. Albert School District #6. She was a member of the Athabasca University Governing Council from 1972 to 1983. In 1998 she was elected as Chancellor of the University of Alberta.
Former Lieutenant Governor Hole authored six gardening books (all Canadian bestsellers) and a collection of life stories, photographs and growing information entitled I'll Never Marry a Farmer. Prior to becoming Lieutenant Governor, Mrs Hole gave hundreds of gardening talks across North America to thousands of people, had been a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, Edmonton Journal, and the Edmonton Sun and had appeared regularly on the "Grapevine" segment of CBC TV's Canadian Gardener.
The former Lieutenant Governor was a Member of the Order of Canada (1999), Chancellor of the Alberta Order of Excellence (2000), Dame of Justice, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and Honourary Patricia, 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. She was awarded the Gandhi, King, Ikeda Humanitarian Award (2003) and received Honorary Degrees from the University of Alberta (2000), Athabasca University (1983), the University of Lethbridge (2004) and Olds College (1996).
Her Honour served as a director of the Farm Credit Corporation and as Honourary Chair for the 27th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice and for the Children's Millennium Fund. She also served as a board member of the Canadian Heritage Garden Foundation, the Child & Adolescent Services Association and the Quality of Life Commission.
The Lieutenant Governor was recognized for her ongoing contributions to libraries, education and the arts by the establishment of The Lois Hole Library Legacy Program (2002), The Alberta School Boards Association “Lois Hole Lecture Series” (2003) and the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Program (2004).
