 He was a strong promoter of the area, founding the Westerner showgrounds and annual "Westerner Days", akin to the Calgary Stampede.A Conservative, Gaetz ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta unsuccessfully in the Alberta general election, 1905 and for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in 1894, both times for the Red Deer constituency.He died in Red Deer in 1907, less than a year after the death of his wife in December 1906.