Michael Frederick Carrington Radcliffe (born December 16, 1944) is a lawyer and former

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 ...

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 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 1995 to 1999, 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

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian politician from Manitoba who served as the 19th premier of Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from ...

from 1997 to 1999. The son of Leslie Radcliffe and Edith Bole, he was born 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 earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree and an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from 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 ...

. From 1970 to 1996, he was a partner in the firm of ''Baker, Radcliffe, Murray, Kovnats''. Radcliffe was involved in

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

but is now the Grand Knight for the St. Ignatius Church council (#5808) of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

. In 1974, he married Linda Anne Leach. In 1912, Radcliffe's father was planning to travel on what turned out to be the only voyage of the RMS ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' with his uncle Charles Sedgwick and aunt Adelaide, who were on their way to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. In the end, because of concerns about safety related to the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, Charles made the voyage alone; his body was never found. In the Canadian general election of 1993, Radcliffe ran as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party 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 ...

. The riding was represented by

Lloyd Axworthy Lloyd Norman Axworthy (born December 21, 1939) is a Canadian politician, elder statesman and academic. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Following his retirement from parliament ...

MP at the time, and was considered

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

; Radcliffe came in third with only 3,878 votes, against Axworthy's 25,667. In the provincial election of 1995, Radcliffe ran as a Progressive Conservative in the upscale west-end Winnipeg riding of River Heights, which contained much of the territory represented federally by Winnipeg South Centre. He was successful on this occasion, defeating

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Anita Neville Anita Ruth Neville (born July 22, 1942) is a former Canadian politician from Manitoba, who has served as the province's 26th lieutenant governor since 2022. She was also a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada, first being elected ...

(later the MP for Winnipeg South Centre from 2000 to 2011) by 994 votes. He flipped the seat from Liberal to PC, as the former Liberal leader

Sharon Carstairs Sharon Carstairs (born April 26, 1942) is a Canadian politician and former Senator. Early life Carstairs was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the daughter of former Nova Scotia Premier and federal Senator Harold Connolly and his wife Vivian. Sh ...

had resigned to accept an appointment to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

. On January 6, 1997,

, the

premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba () is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council. In formal terms, the premier rec ...

, appointed Radcliffe to the

Executive Council of Manitoba The Executive Council of Manitoba (), more commonly known as the Cabinet of Manitoba, is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Manitoba. As of 2023, the current cabinet are members of the New Democratic Party, and have been since 2023. Almost ...

, as

Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs The Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs was a Government of Canada cabinet position held between 1967 and 1995. The minister was responsible for consumer and corporate issues relating to legislation at the federal level. The minister was a ...

with responsibility for the Gaming Control Act. On February 5, 1999, he became the province's

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, with responsibility for the Civil Service Act, the Civil Service Superannuation Act, the Civil Service Special Supplementary Severance Benefits Act (1983), the Public Servants Insurance Act and the Workers Compensation Act. Filmon's Progressive Conservatives lost government to the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

under

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

in the provincial election of 1999. The NDP did not have a strong base in River Heights, and Radcliffe would probably have been re-elected under normal circumstances. However, provincial Liberal leader

Jon Gerrard Jon Gerrard (born October 13, 1947) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1993 to 1997, and was a secretary of state in the government of Jean Chrétien. He was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party f ...

decided to contest the riding. Although the Liberals as a whole ran a poor provincial campaign and lost 10% from their 1995 support level, Gerrard was personally popular enough that he defeated Radcliffe by 465 votes. Radcliffe attempted to defeat Gerrard in a rematch in the 2003 provincial election but lost by almost 2,000 votes. In 2004, Radcliffe was the official campaign agent for Raj Joshi,

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 ...

candidate in Winnipeg South Centre.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radcliffe, Mike 1944 births Candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election Living people Manitoba candidates for Member of Parliament Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba