Elin Salome Halldorson (December 29, 1887
– May 31, 1970
) was a politician in
Manitoba,
Canada.
She served in the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1936 to 1941 as a member of the
Social Credit League.
She was the second woman and the first woman of
Icelandic origin to serve in the provincial legislature.
Early life
Halldorson was born to Halldor Halldorson and Kristin Palsdottir
in
Lundar, Manitoba. She was educated at
Wesley College in
Winnipeg and the
University of Manitoba, receiving a
Bachelor of Arts degree. Halldorson worked as a teacher of languages, teaching
Latin,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
German from 1918 to 1938 at Jon Bjarnason Academy,
a private school started by the
Icelandic Lutheran Church in 1913.
Career
She was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the
1936 provincial election, defeating
Liberal-Progressive incumbent
Skuli Sigfusson by 156 votes in the constituency of
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
. She was the first woman elected to the legislature since the resignation of
Edith Rogers in 1932.
The Social Credit League won only five seats (out of 55) in this election, but held the balance of power by maintaining
John Bracken's Liberal-Progressive government in office. In 1940, the party formally entered an all-party
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
with the Liberal-Progressives,
Conservatives and
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation. Independent
Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA)
Lewis Stubbs was initially the only legislator not to join the government.
Social Credit split on the coalition issue, and Halldorson broke with the rest of her caucus to serve as the legislature's second opposition member. The Social Credit League subsequently expelled the other four MLAs, although they continued to identify themselves as representatives of the party. The reconstructed Social Credit League endorsed Halldorson's decision,
and
Social Credit Premier of Alberta William Aberhart also supported her.
The
1941 election greatly reduced Social Credit as a political force in the province. All of the anti-coalition candidates were defeated, and Halldorson finished a distant second against Sigfusson in St George.
In addition to her career in the legislature, Halldorson served as vice-president and president of the Manitoba Social Credit League in the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1943, Halldorson contested a federal
by-election in
Selkirk as a candidate of the
Social Credit Party of Canada. She came a very distant third, finishing almost 9,000 votes behind successful candidate
William Bryce of the
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation.
She was re-nominated in the
1945 provincial election, but declined to stand.
Her brother
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
also served in the Manitoba assembly after her stint there.
Later life
Halldorson later taught at
Morden,
Transcona and at
Balmoral Hall.
In 1953, she wrote against proposed anti-discrimination legislation as unduly restricting the freedom of employers.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halldorson, Salome
1887 births
1970 deaths
Manitoba Social Credit Party MLAs
Women MLAs in Manitoba
Halldorson, Elin Salome
20th-century Canadian women politicians