Alexander Robert Welch was a politician in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 from 1929 to 1945, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of John Bracken

John Bracken

John Bracken, PC was an agronomist, the 11th Premier of Manitoba and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ....

 and Stuart Garson

Stuart Garson

Stuart Sinclair Garson, was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Premier of Manitoba from 1943 to 1948, and later became a federal cabinet minister....

.

Welch was born in Brechin

Brechin

Brechin is a former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin is often described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese , but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and came to Canada with his parents in 1874. He was educated in Stratford

Stratford, Ontario

Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. He later moved to Manitoba and worked as a merchant. Welch served as mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Boissevain, Manitoba

Boissevain, Manitoba

Boissevain is a town in Manitoba near the North Dakota border. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Morton. It is notable for its proximity to the International Peace Garden, a short drive south on Highway 10. The town also displays a number of wall murals as a tourist attraction...

 from 1908 to 1909 and was chair of the Boissevain School Board from 1916 to 1929, also serving as president of the Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...

 Association in the Turtle Mountain constituency during the same period.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 held on June 22, 1929, following the death of former Conservative leader Richard Gardiner Willis

Richard Gardiner Willis

Richard Gardiner Willis was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was the leader of the Manitoba Conservative Party from 1919 to 1922, and served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1922 until his death....

. Welch defeated W.E. Campbell of the Progressive Party

Progressive Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba, an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I...

 by 332 votes. The Conservatives were the main opposition party in Manitoba during this period, and Welch sat with his party on the opposition benches.

Welch was narrowly re-elected in the 1932 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1932

Manitoba's general election of June 16, 1932 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This was the second election in Manitoba where the single transferable ballot was used in all electoral divisions...

, defeating a Liberal-Progressive

Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...

 candidate by only 55 votes. He was returned by an increased margin in the 1936 election

Manitoba general election, 1936

Manitoba's general election of July 27, 1936 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The was the second election in Manitoba after the formation of a Liberal-Progressive alliance in 1932...

.

In 1940, the Conservatives joined with the Liberal-Progressives in a coalition government

Coalition government

A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...

. Welch was chosen as one of his party's cabinet representatives, and was named a minister without portfolio

Minister without Portfolio

A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...

 on November 4, 1940. He was returned without opposition in the 1941 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1941

Manitoba's general election of April 22, 1941 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election was held shortly after the formation of a coalition government in December 1940...

.

Welch did not seek re-election in 1945, and resigned from cabinet on November 15 of that year.