Max felt the call of the west and was able to convince his father that the prairies were just the thing for a young man recovering from an illness brought on by riding a bicycle in inclement weather.

He left his Montreal home and came to the prairies at the age of 15, helping family friend Ernie Keith on his Bow River ranch.

David Maxwell, Marion, Malcolm, Charlotte Myrtle, Robert Alexander and Muriel Jean Campbell were born to the couple.

Early records show Max holding CCF meetings in the Neilburg community hall, building the party and movement that would be Canada's conscience.

Two of Max's key issues in his time as Member of Parliament for the Battlefords were pollution in the North Saskatchewan River and working to improve the lot of first nations people.