David Alexander Best 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 1941 to 1945 as an anti-coalition Conservative.

Born in Derry, Best was educated at Foyle College and moved to Canada in 1911. He worked as an accountant and printing salesman, and was elected as the reeve of St. James, Manitoba in 1938.

Best was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1941

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...

. Prior to this election, the Conservative Party of Manitoba

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:...

 entered 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...

 led by the Liberal Progressive Party

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 :...

 and also including the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and Social Credit

Manitoba Social Credit Party

The Manitoba Social Credit Party was a political party in the Canadian province of Manitoba. In its early years, it espoused the monetary reform theories of social credit....

. A number of Conservatives opposed joining the coalition, and ran for the legislature against their party's position.

Best was one of three anti-coalition Conservatives elected to the legislature in 1941. He defeated CCF incumbent James Aikens in Assiniboia by 274 votes, and served as an opposition member for the parliament that followed.

In 1943, the Conservative Party changed its name to the Progressive Conservative Party. Best ran in the 1945 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1945

Manitoba's general election of October 15, 1945 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The 1945 provincial election was extremely different from the previous election, which was held in 1941...

 as an official Progressive Conservative candidate, but lost to CCF candidate Ernest Draffin

Ernest Draffin

Ernest R. Draffin was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1945 to 1949 as a member of the social-democratic Cooperative Commonwealth Federation....

by 180 votes.