Ewan McPherson
Encyclopedia
Ewan Alexander McPherson (January 27, 1878—November 11, 1954) was a politician in Manitoba
, Canada
. He served in the Canadian House of Commons
from 1926 to 1930. He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
from 1914 to 1920 and from 1932 to 1936, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of John Bracken
.
McPherson was born in Worth County, Missouri
, and arrived in Canada with his family in 1879. He was educated at Portage la Prairie
, and worked as a barrister. He was called to the bar in 1904, and became a bench member of the Manitoba Bar Association in 1915.
He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1910 provincial election
, as a Liberal
in the Portage la Prairie constituency. He was defeated, losing to Conservative
cabinet minister Hugh Armstrong
by 199 votes. McPherson ran again in the 1914 election
, and defeated Armstrong by ten votes.
The Conservative administration of Rodmond P. Roblin was forced to resign amid scandal in 1915. The house was dissolved, and another election
called. McPherson was re-elected, defeating Conservative candidate Fawcett Taylor by 258 votes. For the next five years, he served as a backbench supporter of Tobias Norris's administration.
McPherson was defeated in the 1920 election
, losing to Fawcett Taylor by 287 votes. Taylor's public profile had increased between 1915 and 1920, and he was chosen as leader of the Manitoba Conservative Party two years later.
McPherson did not contest the 1922 provincial election
, but instead turned his attention to federal politics. He was selected by the Liberal Party of Canada
to run against Conservative
Prime Minister
Arthur Meighen
in the federal election of 1926
. He was successful, upsetting Meighen by 428 votes in the federal riding of Portage la Prairie
. The Liberal Party won the election, and McPherson served for four years as a backbench supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie King
's government.
The Liberals were defeated in the 1930 provincial election
, and McPherson lost his seat to Conservative candidate William Herbert Burns
by 142 votes. After this loss, he turned his attention to provincial politics again.
In 1922, the United Farmers of Manitoba unexpectedly won a majority of seats in the Manitoba parliament and formed government as the Progressive Party
. With Mackenzie King's support, the Manitoba Liberal Party formed an electoral alliance with the Progressive Party in 1932. Although he did not yet have a seat in the legislature, McPherson was appointed to John Bracken's cabinet on May 27, 1932 as Provincial Treasurer.
In the 1932 provincial election
, McPherson made the questionable decision of challenging Conservative leader Fawcett Taylor again in Portage la Prairie. Although Bracken's "Liberal-Progressives" were re-elected with a majority government, McPherson went down to a resounding defeat. He had to wait until July 16, 1932 to run in a deferred election in the sprawling northern constituency of Rupertsland, and even here his election was not certain. He was forced to face another pro-government candidate, incumbent Progressive Herbert Beresford
, and won by only 97 votes.
Notwithstanding his difficulties in the election, McPherson continued to serve as Provincial Treasurer for the parliament that followed. He was also named Municipal Commissioner
on May 10, 1935. He did not seek re-election in 1936. Some federal Liberals hoped that McPherson would replace Bracken as premier, but this did not come to pass.
After leaving politics, McPherson was appointed Chief Justice
of the Manitoba Court of Appeal
. He held this position until his death in 1954.
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 Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
from 1926 to 1930. He was also a member of 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 1914 to 1920 and from 1932 to 1936, and served as a cabinet minister in the government 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 ....
.
McPherson was born in Worth County, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, and arrived in Canada with his family in 1879. He was educated at Portage la Prairie
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....
, and worked as a barrister. He was called to the bar in 1904, and became a bench member of the Manitoba Bar Association in 1915.
He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1910 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1910
Manitoba's general election of July 11, 1910 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a fourth consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party of Manitoba, led by premier Rodmond Palen Roblin. Roblin's electoral machine won...
, as a Liberal
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 :...
in the Portage la Prairie constituency. He was defeated, losing to 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:...
cabinet minister Hugh Armstrong
Hugh Armstrong
Hugh Armstrong was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1892 to 1896 and from 1902 to 1915, and was a senior cabinet minister in the government of Rodmond P. Roblin...
by 199 votes. McPherson ran again in the 1914 election
Manitoba general election, 1914
Manitoba's general election of July 10, 1914 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a fifth consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party, led by premier Rodmond P. Roblin...
, and defeated Armstrong by ten votes.
The Conservative administration of Rodmond P. Roblin was forced to resign amid scandal in 1915. The house was dissolved, and another election
Manitoba general election, 1915
Manitoba's general election of August 6, 1915 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election was held only one year after the previous general election of 1914. In that election, the governing Conservatives of premier Rodmond P. Roblin were...
called. McPherson was re-elected, defeating Conservative candidate Fawcett Taylor by 258 votes. For the next five years, he served as a backbench supporter of Tobias Norris's administration.
McPherson was defeated in the 1920 election
Manitoba general election, 1920
Manitoba's general election of 29 June 1920 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.-Background:...
, losing to Fawcett Taylor by 287 votes. Taylor's public profile had increased between 1915 and 1920, and he was chosen as leader of the Manitoba Conservative Party two years later.
McPherson did not contest the 1922 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1922
Manitoba's general election of July 18, 1922 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.As in the previous election of 1920, the city of Winnipeg elected ten members by the single transferable ballot...
, but instead turned his attention to federal politics. He was selected by the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
to run against Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Arthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen, PC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation, and the only one to represent a riding...
in the federal election of 1926
Canadian federal election, 1926
The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called following an event known as the King-Byng Affair...
. He was successful, upsetting Meighen by 428 votes in the federal riding of Portage la Prairie
Portage la Prairie (electoral district)
Portage la Prairie was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1949.This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Macdonald riding....
. The Liberal Party won the election, and McPherson served for four years as a backbench supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
's government.
The Liberals were defeated in the 1930 provincial election
Canadian federal election, 1930
The Canadian federal election of 1930 was held on July 28, 1930 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Canada...
, and McPherson lost his seat to Conservative candidate William Herbert Burns
William Herbert Burns
William Herbert Burns was a Canadian politician and merchant. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Member of the Conservative Party of Canada in the 1930 election to represent the riding of Portage la Prairie. He was defeated in the 1935 election...
by 142 votes. After this loss, he turned his attention to provincial politics again.
In 1922, the United Farmers of Manitoba unexpectedly won a majority of seats in the Manitoba parliament and formed government as 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...
. With Mackenzie King's support, the Manitoba Liberal Party formed an electoral alliance with the Progressive Party in 1932. Although he did not yet have a seat in the legislature, McPherson was appointed to John Bracken's cabinet on May 27, 1932 as Provincial Treasurer.
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...
, McPherson made the questionable decision of challenging Conservative leader Fawcett Taylor again in Portage la Prairie. Although Bracken's "Liberal-Progressives" were re-elected with a majority government, McPherson went down to a resounding defeat. He had to wait until July 16, 1932 to run in a deferred election in the sprawling northern constituency of Rupertsland, and even here his election was not certain. He was forced to face another pro-government candidate, incumbent Progressive Herbert Beresford
Herbert Beresford
Herbert Grahame Beresford was a land surveyor and politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1927 to 1932....
, and won by only 97 votes.
Notwithstanding his difficulties in the election, McPherson continued to serve as Provincial Treasurer for the parliament that followed. He was also named Municipal Commissioner
Municipal Commissioner (Manitoba)
The office of the Municipal Commissioner is a former government department in the Canadian province of Manitoba, established by the government of John Norquay in 1887...
on May 10, 1935. He did not seek re-election in 1936. Some federal Liberals hoped that McPherson would replace Bracken as premier, but this did not come to pass.
After leaving politics, McPherson was appointed Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Manitoba Court of Appeal
Manitoba Court of Appeal
The Manitoba Court of Appeal is the highest Court of Appeal in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was established in 1906. It is located in the Old Law Courts building at 408 York Avenue in Winnipeg, the capital city of Manitoba...
. He held this position until his death in 1954.