Edward Joseph Williams (January 28, 1918 – August 18, 2021) was 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 ...

, Canada.

Biography

Born in Brandon in 1918, he was raised in Fort William,

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 served in various units of the Canadian army between 1939 and 1945; he started as a private in the 4th Canadian

Field Ambulance A field ambulance (FA) is the name used by the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth nations to describe a mobile medical unit that treats wounded soldiers very close to the combat zone. In the British military medical system that deve ...

and later obtained his commission at RMC Sandhurst with the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

. He served in 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 ...

as a progressive conservative from 1958 to 1959. Williams was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1958 provincial election in the sprawling northern

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Churchill. He defeated liberal progressive candidate K.D. Wray by 297 votes in a poll that was deferred until after the rest of the province had voted. The Progressive Conservatives won a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

in this election, and Williams became a backbench supporter 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 ...

's government. He did not seek re-election in 1959, but later went on to become President of the Churchill

Chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

and obtained brief fame by appearing on the

CBC National News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

suggesting that Churchill would be much better off as part of the federally governed

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

(NWT). Williams subsequently became Director of Industrial Development for the

District of Mackenzie The District of Mackenzie was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories. The district consisted of the portion of the Northwest Territories directly north of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan on Canada's main ...

of the NWT and then worked with the

Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

until his retirement in 1983. He died in August 2021 in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, at the age of 103.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, E. J. 1918 births 2021 deaths Canadian Army officers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian men centenarians Politicians from Brandon, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps soldiers Canadian military personnel from Manitoba 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba