Carolyne Alexandra Morrison (February 18, 1905 – August 24, 1997) was a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

from 1960 to 1969. Born Carolyne McBean in Ridgeville, Manitoba in 1905, to William McBean and Nellie Marshall, Morrison was educated at

Emerson, Manitoba Emerson is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district (LUD) in south central Manitoba, Canada, located within the Municipality of Emerson – Franklin. It has a population of 678 as of the 2016 Canada census. Location an ...

, and fulfilled teacher training in Brandon. She was a teacher and homemaker prior to her entry into politics. In 1938, she married Hugh Morrison, who was serving his first term as the MLA for the constituency of Manitou, having been elected in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

; they had no children. Hugh continued to serve as an MLA until his death in 1957, by which time his constituency had become

Manitou–Morden Manitou—Morden is a former provincial electoral division in Manitoba, Canada. It was established for the 1949 provincial election by combining parts of Manitou and Morden-Rhineland, and eliminated by redistribution before the 1958 election ...

. Carolyne ran for election to the same body following the death of

Maurice Ridley Maurice E. Ridley (February 25, 1915 – October 2, 1960) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Progressive Conservative from 1957 to 1960, and was a cabinet minister in the government ...

. She was first elected to the legislature in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on December 9, 1960, winning easy election in the rural, southern riding of Pembina, a successor constituency to her husband's former constituency of Manitou–Morden. In the 1962 election, she defeated

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Charles Cousins by 211 votes. She increased her margin of victory in the 1966 election, and did not run in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

. Morrison spent her legislative career as a PC

backbencher In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...

;

premiers Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Dufferin Roblin Dufferin "Duff" Roblin (June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2010) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 14th premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre ...

and

Walter Weir Walter Cox-Smith Weir (June 7, 1929 – April 17, 1985) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. Weir served as the 15th premier of Manitoba from 1967 to 1969. Personal life The son of James Dixon Weir, Walter Weir was born in Rural Municipa ...

never appointed her to cabinet. She was one of only two women in the Manitoba legislature during the 1960s (the other being her Progressive Conservative colleague

Thelma Forbes Thelma Bessie Forbes (September 26, 1910 – January 5, 2012) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1959 to 1969, and served as a cabinet minister in ...

, who served as a cabinet minister and

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Speaker (politics), Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba is the presiding officer of the provincial legislature. List of speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba References Biographies of Living Members
{{DEFAULT ...

), and only the fifth woman ever elected to the legislature. Morrison also served in the local

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

and on the Manitou Hospital Board; she was a news correspondent for the local district for the ''Western Canadian'' newspaper. She died in

Manitou Manitou () is the fundamental life force in the theologies of Algonquian peoples. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aashaa monetoo'' means "good spirit", while ''otshee monetoo ...

at age 92, after suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in her old age.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Carolyne 1905 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Canadian women politicians Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Canada Neurological disease deaths in Manitoba People from Emerson, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Women MLAs in Manitoba 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba