Sydney Ernest Rogers (November 11, 1888–September 10, 1965) was a

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politician. Between 1937 and 1941, he was the leader of the province's Social Credit Party.

Biography

Rogers was born in 1888 on the

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, the son of James Alexander Rogers and Elizabeth Spencer. Gordon Goldsborough, "Memorable Manitobans: Sydney Ernest Rogers (1888-1965)", The Manitoba Historical Society.
/ref> Moving to

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with his family in 1897, he later worked as a farmer. He was elected reeve of the

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in 1920, and held this position for well over a decade, serving two terms. In 1905, he married Georgina Elizabeth Johnston. In 1936, Rogers was a candidate for the newly formed Social Credit League in Manitoba. This party was influenced by the recent victory of

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first leader o ...

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, and promised a similar program of monetary reform. The party did not have a leader during the election, but nevertheless succeeded in electing five of its candidates. Rogers was elected in the riding of Roblin. The five-member caucus subsequently chose Stanley Fox as the party's leader. Fox stepped down in 1937, and was replaced by Rogers. In 1940, Rogers was responsible for bringing Social Credit into the all-party coalition government proposed by

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John Bracken John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...

. Rogers did not join cabinet, standing aside for Norman Turnbull to become a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

. The decision to join government split the Social Credit ranks, and several of the party's candidates in 1941 ran against the coalition. Rogers, Fox and Turnbull (all government supporters) were the only party members re-elected,"Manitoba Social Credit Party", Economic expert.com
/ref> and the group does not seem to have had a leader during the parliament that followed. The Social Credit group, in fact, came to be regarded as little more than an appendage of the Liberal-Conservative coalition. Rogers retired from the legislature in 1945, and died twenty years later.

References

External links

"Memorable Manitobans: Sydney Ernest Rogers (1888-1965)", The Manitoba Historical Society.
1888 births 1965 deaths Manitoba Social Credit Party MLAs {{Manitoba-politician-stub