Charles Hubert (Buck) Witney (July 12, 1919 – May 21, 1991) 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. He 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 1959 to 1969, and served as a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the governments of

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 ...

. Witney was born in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. The son of Percy Howard Witney and Winnifred Marion Herrington, Witney was educated at Technical High School in Moose Jaw, and did not attend university. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served as a radar mechanic in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. In 1947, Witney married Vera Ruby Matthews. He moved to

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located withi ...

in 1949. Prior to his election, he was a star personality at CFAR, at the time the only radio station in Flin Flon. Known as a

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

, he first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1958 provincial election, against

Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics there was no Liberal-Progressive Party, as such. The term generally referred to candidates endorsed by Lib ...

Francis Bud Jobin in the riding of

. He lost, but defeated Jobin in the 1959 provincial election, as the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government under the leadership of

. Witney defeated Jobin, who later served as

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba The lieutenant governor of Manitoba (, (if male) or (if female) ) is the representative in Manitoba of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieuten ...

. He was appointed Minister of Mines and Natural Resources on August 7, 1959. Re-elected in the 1962 provincial election, Witney was appointed

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

on December 9, 1963. He held this position for the remainder of Roblin's time in office, and was retained in the portfolio when

succeeded Roblin as Premier in 1967. Many aldermen in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

found him extremely stubborn on health-related matters. On September 24, 1968, he was transferred to the

Ministry of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

. He was defeated by

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

candidate Thomas Barrow in the 1969 provincial election, and did not seek re-election after that time. In 1969, Witney moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, where he served as executive director of the Canadian School Trustees Association. He moved to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

when the association moved its office there in 1975. Witney died at home in Nepean at the age of 71.

References

1919 births 1991 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba {{Manitoba-MLA-stub