Edward Russell Helwer (born December 20, 1940) is a politician in

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 o ...

, Canada. He served as a Progressive Conservative member of the

Manitoba legislature The Legislature of Manitoba is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the King of Canada in Right of Manitoba, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and the unicameral ...

from 1988 to 2003. Although the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party was in power for most of this period, Helwer was never appointed to a cabinet position (though he did serve as Party Whip at one point). Helwer was born in Selkirk, Manitoba. He worked as an

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agent from 1963 to 1974, and was a Macleod Authorized Dealer from 1974 to 1983. From 1976 to 1996, he was also the owner of a small business called ''Rockwood Farm Supplies''. Helwer served as a municipal councillor in Teulon from 1969 to 1973 and 1977 to 1980, and was the town's

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

from 1980 to 1988. He was also chair of the ''Hunter Hospital Board'' from 1977 to 1987. Helwer first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1986 provincial election, losing to

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

incumbent

John Bucklaschuk John M. Bucklaschuk (born July 18, 1939 in Rossburn, Manitoba) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988, and a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party government of H ...

by about 950 votes in the riding of Gimli. In the 1988 election (called after the NDP government lost a budget vote and held during a period of unpopularity for the party), Helwer defeated Bucklaschuk by about 1400 votes to win the riding. Helwer was re-elected easily in the 1990 election, and was able to defeat NDP challenger Fran Frederickson by about 1800 votes in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. He faced Frederickson again in the 1999 election, and saw his majority cut to only 402 votes; the NDP were victorious in the province, and Helwer became Progressive Conservative critic for Government Services and Emergency Management in the opposition. Helwer did not seek re-election in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, and the Gimli riding was subsequently won by the New Democratic Party again. Helwer was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

References

1940 births Living people People from Selkirk, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 21st-century Canadian politicians {{Manitoba-politician-stub