Gordon Minto Churchill (November 8, 1898 – August 3, 1985) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician. 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 ...

from 1946 to 1949 as an independent, and 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 1951 to 1968 as a Progressive Conservative. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

Early life

The son of J. W. Churchill and Mary Shier, Churchill was educated in

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it was amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur became the district seat ...

, at United College 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 ...

and 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 received 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 ...

degree and a law degree. He worked as a teacher and school principal, and served as president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society. He belonged to the law firm of Haig and Haig, which was founded by the family of

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician

John Thomas Haig John Thomas Haig, (December 15, 1877 – October 23, 1962) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as parliamentary leader of the Manitoba Conservative Party in 1921–22. Born in Colborne, Ontario, Haig received his BA from t ...

. In 1922, he married Mona Mary McLachlin.

Military service

Churchill saw action in both World Wars. He served overseas in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from 1916 to 1919 operating a

Vickers Machine Gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served with the

Fort Garry Horse The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve armoured warfare, armoured regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. It traces its history to a cavalry regiment first formed in ...

, the 12th Manitoba Dragoons, the Elgin Regiment and 1st Canadian Carrier Regiment in Northwestern Europe. In 1945, he was appointed Dean of Faculty at Khaki University in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Political career

Churchill's political career began in January 1946, when he was elected to the Manitoba legislature in a special by-election for Manitobans in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

, who had not been able to cast ballots in the 1945 provincial election. Although he had ties to the Progressive Conservative Party, he served in the legislature as an independent. He resigned from the Manitoba legislature in 1949 to run for the Canadian House of Commons in the riding of

Winnipeg South Centre Winnipeg South Centre () is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1979 and since 1988. Geography The district includes the neighb ...

. He finished a distant second to incumbent Liberal candidate Ralph Maybank. Maybank resigned two years later, and Churchill ran in the ensuing by-election, which he won by less than 800 votes. He was returned by greater margins in the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

and

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

general elections. Churchill was a key adviser to Progressive Conservative Party leader John Diefenbaker during this period, and was widely credited with developing the strategy that propelled the Tories to victory in 1957. The Liberal Party of

Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent (; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 1948 to 1957. Born and raised in southeastern Quebec, St. Laurent was a leading la ...

had been in power since 1935, and appeared to have strong popular support. Prior to the 1957 election, Churchill wrote a confidential paper arguing that the Progressive Conservative Party could form government by targeting seats in the English-speaking provinces, and did not need to invest resources in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Diefenbaker followed this strategy, and 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 1957.

Queen Elizabeth and members of the federal government of Canada in Ottawa 1957-10-14

Churchill was appointed to Diefenbaker's cabinet on June 21, 1957 as Minister of Trade and Commerce. Later in the year, he led a 57-member trade delegation to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, touring firms throughout the country. The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected with a large majority in the 1958 federal election; Churchill defeated his nearest opponent in Winnipeg South Centre by almost 20,000 votes. Churchill gave approval in 1959 for Canada's first commercial power

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

, a

CANDU The CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide (heavy water) neutron moderator, moderator and its use of (originally, natural ...

design, to be built at Douglas Point,

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 also served as acting

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons The Government House Leader, officially known as the leader of the Government in the House of Commons of Canada (), is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of ...

from January 14 to September 10, 1960, and was confirmed in this position on October 17, 1960. On October 11, he was named Minister of Veterans Affairs. The Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a minority government in the 1962 federal election; Churchill's majority in Winnipeg South Center shrank to 2,000 votes. On February 12, 1963, he was promoted to Minister of National Defence. He had served only two months in this position when the Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 1963 federal election; Churchill was personally re-elected with an even smaller majority. He served as Opposition House Leader in the Parliament which followed. In the 1965 federal election, which the Progressive Conservatives also lost, Churchill retained his seat by about 2,000 votes. During the flag debates of the 1960s, Churchill referred to the flag which was eventually approved as a "piece of bunting". The ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'' quoted him describing Prime Minister

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

as "a sawdust Caesar, reminding me of Mussolini, trying to force the country to accept his personal choice for a flag." Churchill remained loyal to

during the Progressive Conservative Party's internal quarrels of the 1960s, and worked for Diefenbaker at the party's 1967 leadership convention. When Diefenbaker dropped out of the race, he sent Churchill as an emissary to

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 camp to endorse Roblin. In February 1968, Churchill attacked new Progressive Conservative leader

Robert Stanfield Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the Progressive Conservative ...

for not forcing an election when the Liberal government of

was unexpectedly defeated in the house. He left the Progressive Conservative caucus on February 27, 1968 to sit as an Independent Progressive Conservative, and did not run for re-election in the 1968 campaign.

Electoral history

References

External links