Alberta beef? Legislature's 50-year-old hamburger to be feted at party in Edmonton

Clarence Copithorne came from one of Alberta's most storied ranching families.

So he knewa good burger when he saw one.

Or bad burger, for that matter.

One day in 1969, as one of six MLAs for an upstart party called the Progressive Conservatives, Copithornemomentarily calf-ropeda lengthy debate in the Alberta legislature when he reached into his desk and pulled out the hamburger he'd been served for lunch in the cafeteria.

Why is there a hamburger in the legislature library?

5 years ago

Duration 0:51

Valerie Footz from the Alberta Legislature library explains why a hamburger from 1969, encased in resin, is available for consultation.

After a few choice remarks about proper nourishment, and some barbs aimed at the Social Credit government of then-premier Ernest Manning, the MLA for Banff-Cochrane"tabled" the offending burger and handed it to a clerk.

His remarks were greeted with bipartisan applauseand some vigorous desk thumping in the house.

The clerk had the infamous hamburger encased in glass, and gave it back to the man who went on to become highways minister after Peter Lougheed'sTories swept to power in 1971.

• How a 47-year-old burger became a fixture in the Alberta legislature

Copithornedied in 1979. Years later, his son found the relic in the garage and gave it back to the legislature, where it has since occupied a place of honour in the library.

On Thursday evening, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta will host a party and tour to commemorate the burger's 50th anniversary.

The sold-out event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. andLegislative Assembly of Alberta Visitor Centre at 9820 107th St.

Cake will be served.

No word about hamburgers.