Donald William Craik (August 26, 1931 – September 2, 1985) 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 ...

. 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 1966 to 1981, 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

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 ...

and

Sterling Lyon Sterling Rufus Lyon (January 30, 1927 – December 16, 2010) was a Canadian lawyer, cabinet minister, and the 17th premier of Manitoba from 1977 to 1981. His government introduced several fiscally-conservative measures, and was sometimes seen a ...

Personal life

Born in Baldur, Manitoba, to Ira Donald Craik (1890-1981) and Cordelia Bella Mae Young (1896-1981), Donald William Craik was raised at Greenway, in the Rural Municipality of Argyle. Craik's grandfather, William Craik (1849-1929), was a storekeeper who built Craik’s General Store in 1909 in Greenway. Ira Craik operated the store from 1925 to 1975. In 2012, the building was identified as a significant heritage asset by the Baldur-Argyle Heritage Group. Donald Craik earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in engineering 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 ...

, and his Master of Mechanical Engineering at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. After his graduation, he worked as a mechanical engineer and associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at UManitoba. He was the chairman of the St. Vital School Board from 1962 to 1964, and director of the Manitoba Research Council from 1964 to 1966. Craik also worked as a consulting engineer 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 ...

from 1966 until his death. He married Shirley Hill and they had three children: Judy (1958), Polly (1961), and Donna (1964). Shirley later remarried to

Henry Duckworth Henry Edmison Duckworth, (November 1, 1915 – December 18, 2008) was a Canadian physicist and university administrator. The Duckworth Centre at the University of Winnipeg is named in his honour. Biography Born in Brandon, Manitoba, and ...

. During the early 1970s, Craik opened an

answering service A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...

business called Fine Line Telephone Answering and Secretarial Services. He was a member of the board of trustees of Crescent Fort Rouge United Church. He died at his cottage at Clearwater Bay, Ontario, in 1985, at the relatively young age of 54. He had previously suffered a heart attack in the 1970s.

Political career

Craik was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1966, scoring a relatively easy victory in the

riding of St. Vital. Despite his youth and relative inexperience, Premier

appointed him to cabinet on November 7, 1967, as Minister of Mines and Natural Resources. On September 24, 1968, he was named Minister of Youth and Education with responsibility for the '' Public Libraries Act'' and the ''Legislative Library Act''. As education minister, Craik passed legislation allowing aboriginal Canadians to vote (and be elected to) local school boards. He credited a private member's bill from

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 ...

MLA Sidney Green as the inspiration for this legislation. His first tenure in cabinet proved short-lived, as the Tories lost the 1969 election to the NDP. Craik himself defeated New Democratic challenger James Buchanan by only 29 votes in the redistributed riding of Riel. In the 1973 election, he defeated future cabinet minister Wilson Parasiuk by a slightly greater margin. The Tories returned to power under

in the 1977 election, and Craik was re-elected over NDP candidate

Doreen Dodick Doreen Lois Dodick (born February 17, 1932) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1981 to 1986. She was born in 1932 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the daugh ...

by almost 4,000 votes. On October 24, 1977, he was appointed

Minister of Finance 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 portfolio ...

, Chairman of the Manitoba Energy Council, and minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro. He held these positions until January 16, 1981, and also served as Chairman of the Treasury Board from October 20, 1978, to November 23, 1979, and Minister of Energy and Mines with responsibility for Manitoba Forestry Resources Limited. On January 16, 1981, Craik was appointed Deputy Premier of Manitoba, with responsibility for the Manitoba Energy Council and the Manitoba Development Corporation. The Tories lost power to the NDP in the 1981 election, and Craik personally lost to Doreen Dodick by 242 votes in a rematch from 1977.

Honours and legacy

In 1977, Craik received the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal () is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada ...

. There is currently a Donald W. Craik Engineering Library at the

, which also once offered a Don Craik Memorial Scholarship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craik, Donald Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 1931 births 1985 deaths Ministers of finance of Manitoba Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg People from Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba University of Manitoba alumni University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba