Robert Stirton Thornton (8 May 1863 – 17 September 1936) 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. 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 1907 to 1910, and again from 1914 to 1922. Thornton was a Liberal, and served as 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 or

Tobias Norris Tobias Crawford Norris (September 5, 1861 – October 29, 1936) was a Canadian politician who served as the tenth premier of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922. Norris was a member of the Liberal Party.J. M. Bumsted"Tobias Crawford Norris" ''The Ca ...

. Thornton was born in

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. He was educated at Heriots School and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, receiving medical certification from the latter institution in 1884. He moved to Canada in 1884, and received an

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from Queen's University in

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. Thornton worked as a physician, serving as president of the Manitoba Medical Council (1896) and the

Medical Council of Canada The Medical Council of Canada (MCC; ) is an organization charged with the partial assessment and evaluation of medical graduates and physicians through standardized examination. It grants the qualification called Licentiate of the Medical Council ...

. He was also a horticulturalist and an active

freemason 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 ...

, serving as Grand Master from 1900 of 1902. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1907 provincial election, defeating

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 ...

incumbent Edward Briggs by 41 votes in the constituency of Deloraine.

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 ...

Rodmond Roblin Sir Rodmond Palen Roblin (February 15, 1853 – February 16, 1937) was a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada. Early life and career Roblin was born in Sophiasburgh, in Prince Edward County, Canada West (later Ontario). The Robl ...

's Conservatives won the election, and Thornton served as an opposition member for the next three years. He lost to Conservative John C.W. Reid by six votes in the 1910 campaign. Thornton returned to the legislature in the 1914 election, defeating Reid by 204 votes. The Roblin government was re-elected, but was forced to resign in 1915 after being found responsible for corruption in the tendering of grants for new legislative buildings. The Liberals, though holding a minority of seats, were permitted to form government, and Thornton was appointed as

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

on 12 May 1915. The Liberals were confirmed in government by a further provincial election, held on 6 August 1915. Thornton again defeated Reid, this time by 295 votes. As education minister, Thornton oversaw the removal of funding for Manitoba's francophone denominational schools. This policy decision was popular in most of the province, though extremely unpopular in its francophone regions. The Liberals were reduced to 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 the 1920 provincial election, and were weakened by the rise of organized

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

and Labour political groups. Thornton was again re-elected over Reid, this time by 315 votes, and was retained as Minister of Education in the Norris administration. He was defeated in the 1922 provincial election, finishing third against

United Farmers of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party in Manitoba between 1920 and 1932, which was the year of its dissolution. It developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically activ ...

candidate

Duncan Stuart McLeod Duncan Stuart McLeod (December 17, 1854–July 31, 1933) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1922 to 1927. McLeod was born in Tamworth, Canada West. He worked as a farmer in Goodlan ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Robert 1863 births 1936 deaths Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British emigrants to Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba