Colin Genge


Colin Melville Genge was a politician, contractor and business man from Alberta, Canada.

Early life

Genge was born in Kingston, Canada West in the year 1859. He moved to Fort Macleod, North-West Territories in 1881 and married his wife Anne May Ryan in 1884. Upon moving to Fort Macleod, Genge became involved in numerous local business ventures. He operated a hardware store, owned a sandstone quarry, and ran the Fort Macleod Telephone Company.
Along with his retail and telecom ventures Genge also worked as a contractor. He designed and built the Queens Hotel in 1903 using sandstone from his own quarry.
Genge became interested in politics and started his career on the municipal level serving 2 terms as Mayor of Fort Macleod beginning in 1904.

Political career and death

The province of Alberta was created out of the North-West Territories in 1905. Genge was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1909 Alberta general election. He defeated Conservative Party candidate E.P. McNeill in a hotly contested election. Genge died less than a full year in his first term in office in 1910 vacating his seat in the legislature.