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Lois Elsa Hole, CM, AOE DStJ (née Veregin; 30 January 1929 – 6 January 2005) was a Canadian politician, businesswoman, academician, professional gardener and best-selling author. She was the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 10 February 2000 until her death on 6 January 2005. She was known as the "Queen of Hugs" for breaking with protocol and hugging almost everyone she met, including journalists, diplomats and other politicians. "Hole, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta". For Posterity's Sake.
In 1950, she met Ted Hole, a young University of Alberta agriculture student. Several years later they married and moved to a farm near St. Albert, Alberta. Lois and Ted Hole ran a successful market garden business from their farm which they, along with their sons Bill and Jim, incorporated as Hole's Greenhouses & Gardens Ltd. in 1979. It remained one of Western Canada's largest retail greenhouse stores until it closed in early 2011 when the Hole family moved the operation to their new site on the edge of Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, and opened the Enjoy Centre.
In 1983, she was awarded an honorary degree doctorate Doctor of Athabasca University and in 1997 received a Distinguished Citizen Honorary Diploma in Business from Grant MacEwan College and in 2000 received an Honorary Doctorate in Laws from the University of Alberta. In 2003, she received an Honorary Degree in Horticulture from Olds College, Olds, Alberta.
She was a school trustee at St. Albert School District No. 6 in 1998, was a trustee and chairperson, Sturgeon School Division, was on the Athabasca University Governing Council, and Chancellor of University of Alberta, 1998–2000.
She was the Keynote speaker at the Alberta College Graduation Ceremony in 2000, at Strathcona Composite High School Commencement ceremony in 2001, and at the Strathcona Composite High School Graduation ceremony in 2003.
A public memorial was held for Hole at Edmonton's Winspear Centre. Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson was criticized for failing to attend Hole's memorial service. Rideau Hall issued a statement saying the Governor General was, at the time, abroad representing Canada at the inauguration of the President of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko. However, the inauguration was postponed, and it was felt that Clarkson could have returned to Canada for the service. When it was later reported by the Toronto Sun and The Globe and Mail that Clarkson would wait in Paris, France, for the rescheduled presidential investiture, more outrage was expressed in the press, which was only compounded when Rideau Hall informed the public that the Governor General would also attend a "long-standing engagement" with the Queen at Sandringham House, contradicting reports that Buckingham Palace had said the dinner was actually booked at the last minute. In response, some monarchists began lobbying Clarkson to resign, had she willingly used the Queen for publicity and damage control purposes.
Most sources cited 1933 as Lois Hole's year of birth based on her reported age at death. However, the Edmonton Journal, the Royal Alberta United Services Institute's newsletter and the Legislature of Alberta all indicate that she was born in 1929. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta confirmed that Hole was born on 30 January 1929.Date of birth confirmed as 30 January 1929 via email from Mary Hunt, Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Room 212 Legislature Building, Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2B6
The Alberta Library Trustees Association (ALTA) established the Lois Hole Award in 2001. In November 2004, two months before Lois Hole's death, the Capital Health Authority in Edmonton announced that a new wing of the Royal Alexandra Hospital would be named the Lois Hole Hospital for Women. It opened 13 April 2010 and consolidated the women's health programs and services based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital into one building.
On 19 April 2005, the Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park was established, becoming the 69th provincial park in Alberta. The park contains the former Big Lake Natural Area and an additional 302 hectares of Crown land, for a total of 1421 hectares. The lake comprises approximately 59 percent of the park's total area.
In 2008 the Edmonton Public Library opened the Lois Hole Library in Callingwood North. It features a sculpture of Lois Hole by Danek Mozdzenski and a reading garden. In 2009, the City of St. Albert declared 14 May to be Lois Hole Day. A bronze statue designed by Barbara Paterson called A Legacy of Love and Learning was unveiled at city hall on this day.
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