From the North to Ottawa and Victoria, Wally Firth left a legacy of music

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Wally Firth was the north’s first Indigenous MP, a pilot and a fur trader, as well as an accomplished musician who donated countless instruments to youth living in the remote Indigenous communities he used to serve.

The staff at Long & McQuade called them “Wally runs” — special trips made from the store to the Glenshiel seniors’ residence to deliver instruments, strings and other musical sundries to Walter Firth.

Long & McQuade’s Shaun Wilson said that in Firth’s later years, when he couldn’t get out as much as he once did, Wilson would drop by the Glenshiel — on Douglas Street near Beacon Hill Park — with various items Firth had requested. The term “Wally run” was born. Getting a chance to make a delivery and shoot the breeze with Firth was always something to look forward to, he said.

Being a pilot was also important to him. He was proud of owning three different airplanes at one time, and flying across Canada “many times.” Cairns became the person who delivered fiddles and other instruments from Firth to young people throughout the north. The story was about making his first speech as an MP in the early 1970s, and having none other than John Diefenbaker approach him afterward.

 

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