Walter Aseltine was born on September 3, 1886, in Napanee, Ontario and educated in Perth. He taught school in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and later obtained his BA from the University of Manitoba. In 1913, Aseltine was called to the Saskatchewan Bar, and established a law firm in Rosetown. He was made King's Council in 1930. Aseltine served on the Rosetown School Board from1920 to 1927 and from 1930 to 1934 he was the town's mayor. In 1921 Aseltine ran unsuccessfully for the Conservative Party in the Rosetown constituency. Prime Minister R.B. Bennett appointed him to the Senate on December 30, 1933. From 1958 to 1962 he served as the leader of the government in the Senate. He performed many international duties including attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II as a member of the official Canadian delegation. In 1961 he was made a member of the Privy Council. For twenty-one years he served on the Senate Divorce Committee, ten of which as chairman.
While he was a member of the Senate he was still very active within his community. He resigned from the Senate in March 1971, one of the longest serving senators in Canadian history at 37 years. He died November 14, 1971.
Trent Evanisky