Most Worshipful Brother
R. Allison Ellis, PGM
Grand Lodge of
Prince Edward Island, A.F. & A.M.;
Grand Master 1990 – 1991

Most Worshipful Bro. Ellis was born April 19, 1935, at West Cape, P.E.I. After elementary schooling at Greenhill School, he started fishing at sixteen and worked on the home farm with his father. Other jobs included carpentry, electrical, lumber, and electrical linesman with the Town of Summerside after the 1956 sleet storm. In 1958, he took over the farm from his father, completed an electronics course, and began servicing radios and TVs part time. He also served as snow plough dispatcher for West Prince region in O’Leary from 1960-1964, joined the National Farmers Union in 1969, and served as local President, National Board member from 1970-1975 and Regional Coordinator for the Maritime Provinces in 1974, then Chairman of the Potato Committee on P.E.I. His value to his community ever increasing, he also served as Director of Acadian Fisherman’s Co-op in 1976, and as President in 1977-78; as a member of the O’Leary Lions Club; and as a director of the O’Leary Community Rink.

In 1964 he set up Allison Industries Ltd. for the manufacture of agricultural equipment including single and double row potato harvesters, bin pilers, escalators, brushers, pallet dumpers, equipment for planing and cleaning artificial ice surfaces at rinks, and more.

On November 6, 1956 he married Elsie Melba MacIsaac, and began to rear a family in West Cape that came to include Michael, Blake (deceased), Amber, Merle and Melody. The family attends Bethel United Church

In 1957, Brother Ellis was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Corinthian Lodge No. 19, O’Leary, and was elected Master there in 1968.

He was elected to the Provincial Legislature in April 1978, and appointed to the Cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio later that year. From 1979 to 1986 he served as Opposition House Leader and party Whip. In 1986 he was appointed Minister of Energy and Forestry, with responsibility for the P.E.I. Energy Corporation and the P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission, and served in that position until June 1989.

During this period of very active public service, Bro. Ellis was also advancing through the ranks of appointive and elective Grand Lodge offices. He was still an active M.L.A., farmer and fisherman when elected to the Grand East, and continued so afterwards.

Most Worshipful Bro. Ellis holds the offices of Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario, the Grand Lodge of the State of Rhode Island and the Grand Lodge of the Philippines, near the Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island.