Cyrl W. "Cy" Gonick (born April 8, 1936) is a former

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 ...

. He was a 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 1969 to 1973, sitting as a member of the

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 ...

. Gonick was born in Winnipeg to Louis Gonick and Minnie Chernick. Gonick attended Kelvin High School 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 ...

. He attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and Berkeley in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Gonick took a faculty position at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. He was a founding editor of '' Canadian Dimension'', a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

journal subsequently based in Winnipeg. Gonick was elected to the legislature in the provincial election of 1969, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Gurney Evans by 273 votes in the Winnipeg riding of Crescentwood. He was a

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 ...

Premier 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 govern ...

Edward Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 22nd governor general of Canada from 1979 to 1984. He previously served as the 16th premier of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977. Schr ...

's government for the next four years. Gonick was the only Manitoba NDP MLA who was an avowed member of "

The Waffle The Waffle (officially known as the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada after 1972) was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, ...

", the NDP's radical wing, during this period. He frequently criticized his government from the left, particularly on issues such as medical billing practices and the foreign ownership of natural resources. He once introduced a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

which would have required all medical doctors to make their incomes public. He did not run for re-election in the

1973 Manitoba general election The 1973 Manitoba general election was held on June 28, 1973 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the social-democratic New Democratic Party, which took 31 of 57 seats to win governmen ...

and did not seek a return to provincial politics after this time. He returned to teaching at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

where he was the program coordinator for the Labour and Workplace Studies Program, retiring in 2001. His son Noam Gonick is a noted Canadian film director.

Major publications

* ''Out of Work: Why There's So Much Unemployment, and Why It's Getting Worse'' (1978) * ''Inflation or Depression: The Continuing Crisis of the Canadian Economy'' (1975) * ''The Great Economic Debate: Failed Economics and a Future for Canada'' (1987) * ''A Very Red Life: The Story of Bill Walsh'' (2001) * ''Canada Since 1960: A People's History'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonick, Cy New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs 1936 births Living people Politicians from Winnipeg 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba