David Walker (born August 1, 1947) is a Canadian politician. He served in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1988 to 1997, as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. Walker was born in Sudbury,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He earned the following academic credentials: a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

(1970), a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from Queen's University (1974), and a Ph.D. from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

(1976). He was a professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

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 ...

from 1974 to 1988, and was also an adjunct professor 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 ...

from 1977 to 1988. Walker was a partner in Walker-Zimmerman Consultants from 1978 to 1985, and served as president of West-Can Consultants Ltd. from 1978 to 1993. From 1985 to 1987, he was research director for the Angus Reid polling firm.

Books

Walker is the author of ''Great

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 ...

Dream'' (1979), and the co-author of ''Livable Winter Cities'' (1986), ''Living Within Our Means: The Role of Voluntary Associations'' (1986) and ''Canadian Municipalities and Conditions of Fiscal Austerity in International Perspective'' (1987) and most recently his first novel ''Wild World''. He chaired a Task Force of Native Employment in Manitoba in 1980, and a

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

task force in 1983–84.

Political career

He campaigned for 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 ...

in the 1977 provincial election, finishing second against former Progressive Conservative leader

Sidney Spivak Sidney Joel Spivak, (May 23, 1928 – July 8, 2002) was a Manitoba politician. He was a Executive Council of Manitoba, Cabinet minister in the governments of Dufferin Roblin, Walter Weir and Sterling Lyon, and was himself leader of the Progr ...

in the upscale constituency of River Heights. Walker worked as campaign manager to Liberal candidate Lloyd Axworthy in the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and 1984 federal elections in Winnipeg—Fort Garry (''Globe and Mail'', 30 April 1979 and 24 August 1984), and worked as an adviser to Axworthy on

issues in the early 1980s (''Globe and Mail'', 10 January 1985). He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 federal election, defeating

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 ...

incumbent Cyril Keeper in Winnipeg North Centre. Walker was the first Liberal candidate ever to win this riding, as the

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...

and NDP had represented it for fifty-nine of the previous sixty-three years. The Progressive Conservative Party won a

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...

in this election, and Walker served for the five years of the

34th Canadian Parliament The 34th Canadian Parliament was in session from December 12, 1988, until September 8, 1993. The membership was set by the 1988 federal election on November 21, 1988, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it w ...

as a member of the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

. Walker was the co-leader of

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

's bid to become Liberal Party leader in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

(''Toronto Star'', 3 June 1990). He also managed the

Manitoba Liberal Party The Manitoba Liberal Party () is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870. History Origins and early development (to 1883) Originally, there were no off ...

's campaign in the 1990 provincial election (''Globe and Mail'', 12 September 1990). The Liberals won a majority government in the 1993 federal election, and Walker was re-elected with a convincing victory over former provincial

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 ...

Maureen Hemphill Maureen Lucille Hemphill ( Miller; January 26, 1937) is a retired Canadian politician from the province of Manitoba. She served in the cabinet of New Democratic Party of Manitoba, NDP Premier of Manitoba, Premier Howard Pawley, and was an unsuc ...

. He served as parliamentary secretary to

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

Paul Martin from 1993 to 1996, when he became chairman of the standing committee on industry (''Winnipeg Free Press'', 5 March 1996). He was defeated in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, narrowly losing to NDP candidate

Pat Martin Patrick D. "Pat" Martin (born December 13, 1955, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party. C ...

when he ran in the re-established district of

Winnipeg Centre Winnipeg Centre () is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1925 and since 1997. History This riding was originally created in 1 ...

. Walker returned to his consulting business after leaving the House of Commons (''Globe and Mail'', 20 March 1999). He also worked on Paul Martin's second leadership bid in the early 2000s (''National Post'', 16 July 2001). In 2000, he was appointed as chief federal negotiator for a Framework Agreement Initiative with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs concerning issues of aboriginal self-governmen

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, David 1947 births Academic staff of the University of Manitoba Academic staff of University of Winnipeg Canadian male novelists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian political scientists Carleton University alumni Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Manitoba Liberal Party candidates in Manitoba provincial elections McMaster University alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Politicians from Greater Sudbury Politicians from Winnipeg Pollsters Queen's University at Kingston alumni Writers from Greater Sudbury Writers from Winnipeg 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Novelists from Ontario