Harold Proctor Shewman (April 14, 1900 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 ...

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 ...

– July 13, 1968) 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 ...

in Manitoba,

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. He served as a 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 1949 until his death in 1968. Shewman was educated at Wellington School in Winnipeg. He moved to

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...

with his family in 1915. He was a partner in his father's construction business and later worked as an auctioneer and insurance agent. He was a school trustee from 1925 to 1938, and served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of the Town of Morris from 1948 to 1954, coinciding with his early period in the legislature. Shewman was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1949 provincial election. At that time, Manitoba was governed by a coalition of the province's Liberal-Progressives (commonly called Liberals) and Progressive Conservatives. Shewman ran as an independent candidate in

, and defeated coalitionist John C. Dryden by 153 votes. Shewman was initially identified as a coalition supporter, but had turned to the opposition side by 1950. In 1950, Shewman called on

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Douglas Campbell to declare a state of emergency over rising flood waters. Campbell delayed, which resulted in a number of municipalities being left ineligible for federal relief. Shewman was re-elected in the 1953 general election, again as an independent. He was not opposed by the Progressive Conservatives (who left the coalition government 1950), and seems to have been at least tacitly supported by that party. He formally joined the Progressive Conservatives in 1954, after

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 ...

was chosen as the party's leader. The Progressive Conservatives made significant gains in the 1958 provincial election, and formed 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 ...

after the vote. Shewman was easily re-elected under the PC banner, and was again returned without difficulty in the elections of

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

and

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. In the 1966 election, he defeated Liberal Bruce McKenzie by the reduced margin of 230 votes. He served on the backbenches throughout his time in parliament, and was never appointed to a cabinet position. Shewman died in 1968. The Morris constituency has remained in Progressive Conservative hands since this time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shewman, Harry 1900 births 1968 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs People from Morris, Manitoba 20th-century mayors of places in Manitoba Independent MLAs in Manitoba 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba