John Aaron Christianson (November 23, 1923 – December 15, 2010) was a politician and educator in Manitoba. 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 1959 to 1962 and was 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 government 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 ...

. Christianson was born in Langruth,

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. He was educated 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 ...

, earning a

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 Mechanical Engineering. He worked as an automobile and implement agent, and was the president of Christianson Ltd. and Koko Platz Development Ltd. From 1942 to 1945, he served as a pilot in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. Concurrent with his career in provincial politics, he was a city

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...

in 1959-60. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1959 provincial election, defeating incumbent

Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics there was no Liberal-Progressive Party, as such. The term generally referred to candidates endorsed by Lib ...

Charles Greenlay by 473 votes in the

constituency. He was appointed to Roblin's cabinet on October 25, 1961 as Minister of Welfare. Christianson's time in office was brief, as he narrowly lost his seat to Liberal candidate Gordon Johnston in the 1962 election. He formally resigned from cabinet on February 27, 1963. He attempted a return to the legislature in the 1966 election, but again lost to Johnston by an increased margin. Some believe Christianson lost his riding because of local opposition to the Portage Diversion flood relief project. He was president of Mini Skools day care centres and opened 48 schools across North America. Christianson went on to serve as a student counselor at the University of Winnipeg. After his retirement, he became co-founder and vice-chair of Canadian International College, an English language university for Japanese students. He died 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 ...

, Canada due to complications from

bone cancer A bone tumor is an neoplastic, abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as benign, noncancerous (benign) or malignant, cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body su ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christianson, John 1923 births 2010 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Canadian people of Icelandic descent 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba