Manitoba Liberal Party facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Manitoba Liberal Party
Active provincial party

Leader	Cindy Lamoureux (interim)
President	Terry Hayward
Deputy Leader	Willard Reaves
Founded	1870; 155 years ago (1870)
Headquarters	635 Broadway Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 0X1
Youth wing	Manitoba Young Liberals
Ideology	Liberalism
Political position	Centre
Colours	Red
Seats in Legislature	1 / 57
Political parties Elections

The Manitoba Liberal Party (also known as the Parti libéral du Manitoba in French) is a political group in Manitoba, Canada. It's one of the main political parties in the province. The party started way back in the late 1800s, not long after Manitoba became a province in 1870.

History of the Manitoba Liberals
Party Leaders
Election Results
See also

History of the Manitoba Liberals

Early Days: No Official Parties (1870s-1883)

When Manitoba first became a province, there weren't official political parties like today. But many politicians had ties to national parties. For example, in Manitoba's first government (1871–1874), Edward Hay was a leading voice for English-speaking newcomers from Ontario. He was seen as a Liberal.

In the 1870s, a group of Liberals started to form in Winnipeg. A key person was William Luxton, who owned the Manitoba Free Press newspaper. This group supported leaders like Robert A. Davis and John Norquay at different times. They often worked with or against other groups depending on what was best for Manitoba.

Thomas Greenway's Leadership (1883–1904)

In 1882, Thomas Greenway started a new group called the Provincial Rights Party. They wanted Manitoba to have more control over its own resources and railways. This group grew strong in rural areas.

After the 1883 election, Greenway brought different opposition politicians together. This group soon became known as the Manitoba Liberals. Greenway led the party for 21 years.

In 1888, Greenway's Liberals won the election and formed Manitoba's first official party government. As Premier, Greenway made changes to railway laws, bringing in more competition.

One big change under Greenway was about language and schools. Manitoba was founded as a bilingual province (English and French). But Greenway's government ended the right for French-speaking Catholics to have their own schools. English became the only official language in public schools.

Greenway won big elections in 1892 and 1896 because many people supported his school changes. But after this issue was settled in 1897, his government seemed to lose its way. In 1899, the Liberals lost to the Manitoba Conservative Party. Greenway continued to lead the party until 1904, when he resigned to run for a national political job.

Early 20th Century Changes

After Greenway, several leaders took charge of the party. Charles Mickle and Edward Brown led the party for a few years.

Then, Tobias Norris became the Liberal leader in 1910. In 1915, the other main party (the Tories) faced a scandal, and Norris became the Premier of Manitoba. He stayed in this role until 1922.

The Norris Liberals brought in many new laws. They introduced:

Laws about alcohol (temperance)
The right for women to vote (suffrage)
Rules for workers' compensation (help for injured workers)
Laws making school attendance mandatory (compulsory education)
Rules for minimum wage (the lowest amount workers could be paid)
A public nursing system
Help for farmers to get loans
Rules for factory conditions
Financial help for widowed mothers

The Norris government sometimes disagreed with the national Liberal Party. For example, they stopped funding French-language education in 1916.

In 1922, the Liberals lost power to a new group called the United Farmers of Manitoba (also known as the Progressive Party). Norris continued to lead the Liberals for most of the 1920s.

Joining Forces: The Liberal-Progressive Party

In 1932, the national Liberal leader, William Lyon Mackenzie King, encouraged the Manitoba Liberals to team up with the Progressive Party. He thought it was important for them to work together to be stronger against the Conservatives.

So, for the 1932 election, the provincial government called itself "Liberal-Progressive." This was a mix of the two parties, though the Progressives were more dominant. A small group of Liberals disagreed and ran as "Continuing Liberals," but they didn't win many votes. After the election, the Manitoba Liberals officially joined the Progressive Party.

Even though it was a mix, the combined party soon became known simply as the "Liberal Party of Manitoba." The "Progressive" name slowly faded away.

The 1940s and 1950s

In 1940, the Liberal-Progressives formed an even bigger team, bringing in the Conservatives, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and Social Credit. This "non-partisan" government ruled Manitoba until 1950.

These Liberal-Progressive governments were careful and didn't make many big changes. After World War II, the government led by Stuart Garson (who became Premier in 1943) worked on bringing electricity to rural areas.

The next Premier, Douglas Lloyd Campbell, was very traditional. His government didn't like the government getting too involved in things. Schools remained basic, and there weren't big changes for language or workers' rights. However, they did update liquor laws. Even with the "Liberal-Progressive" name, Campbell's government was one of the most right-leaning in Canada.

In 1958, the Liberal-Progressives lost their majority in the election to the Progressive Conservatives.

Manitoba Liberal Party: A Time of Change (1960s–1970s)

In 1961, the party officially changed its name back to the "Manitoba Liberal Party." Gildas Molgat became the leader. He helped keep the Liberals from becoming a very small party, but they weren't strong enough to win elections.

In 1969, Robert Bend led the party. The election that year was very tough for the Liberals; they won only five seats. After this, several leaders tried to rebuild the party, including Israel Asper and Charles Huband.

During the 1970s, the party was seen as quite conservative for a Liberal group. For example, under Asper, the party supported less government involvement in the economy (laissez-faire economics) and wanted to reduce social support programs (the welfare state). But later in the 1970s, the party moved away from these ideas. At this time, Manitoba politics became mostly a fight between the Conservatives and the New Democratic Party (NDP). The Liberals struggled to find their place. In the 1981 election, the party didn't win any seats at all for the first time ever.

Ups and Downs (1980s–1990)

In 1984, Sharon Carstairs became the new leader. She was elected to the assembly in 1986. In the 1988 election, she led the party to win 20 seats. This was their best result since 1953, and they became the official opposition party. This happened because the NDP government was not very popular, and many voters who usually supported the centre-left chose the Liberals instead.

People hoped the Liberals could win the next election. But this didn't last. The NDP became stronger again, and in the 1990 election, the Liberals fell back to third place with only seven seats. Many in the party felt they had missed their best chance to form the government in decades.

Further Challenges (1993–2013)

Paul Edwards took over as leader in 1993. Before the 1995 election, the party was doing well in polls. However, they had a weak campaign and were overtaken by the NDP. Even though they had almost 24% of the votes, the Liberals won only three seats and lost their official party status. Edwards lost his own seat and stepped down in 1996.

The leadership election in 1996 showed big disagreements within the party. Ginny Hasselfield won by a very small number of votes against Kevin Lamoureux. Two of the three Liberal politicians (Lamoureux and Gary Kowalski) then sat as "Independent Liberals." The party only came back together when Hasselfield resigned in 1998. She was replaced by Jon Gerrard, a former national politician.

In the 1999 election, Liberal support dropped a lot. The NDP won government, and Gerrard became the only Liberal politician elected. The party didn't gain much support in the 2003 election, though Lamoureux won his seat back, giving the party two politicians.

Despite Lamoureux's win, the total number of votes for the Liberals fell in 2003. In the 2007 election, their support dropped even more, to just over 12%.

Rebuilding the Party (2010s–Present)

In the 2011 election, Jon Gerrard was again the only Liberal politician elected. He then announced he would step down as leader after 15 years.

In 2013, the Manitoba Liberal Party held a new leadership election. Rana Bokhari was chosen as the new leader.

For the 2016 Manitoba general election, the Liberals had high hopes, especially after the national Liberal Party did very well in 2015. However, the provincial party faced problems, including some candidates being disqualified. Their support in polls dropped, and on Election Day, they received 14% of the votes. Bokhari announced she would not lead the party into the next election. Judy Klassen served as interim leader for a while.

Dougald Lamont was elected leader in October 2017, beating Cindy Lamoureux by a very close vote.

In July 2018, Lamont won a special election in St. Boniface. This win gave the Liberals official party status again for the first time in 23 years.

Lamont led the Liberals into the 2019 election. Three Liberal politicians were re-elected: Lamont in St. Boniface, Gerrard in River Heights, and Cindy Lamoureux in Tyndall Park.

Lamont continued as leader for the 2023 election. However, both Gerrard and Lamont lost their seats. Only Cindy Lamoureux was re-elected. Lamont resigned as leader that evening.

On October 17, 2023, Cindy Lamoureux was appointed as the interim (temporary) party leader.

Party Leaders

Liberal Party leaders

Thomas Greenway, 1882–1904
Charles Mickle, December 5, 1904 – March 28, 1906 (parliamentary leader)
Edward Brown, March 28, 1906 – 1908
Charles Mickle, January 1908 – 1910 (parliamentary leader)
Tobias Norris, 1910 – March 20, 1927
Hugh Robson, March 20, 1927 – January 3, 1930
James Breakey, January 3, 1930 – June 26, 1931 (parliamentary leader)
Murdoch Mackay, June 26, 1931 – 1932

"Continuing Liberal" leaders

David Campbell, 1932

Liberal-Progressive Party leaders

John Bracken, 1932 – January 1943
Stuart Garson, January 1943 – November 1948
Douglas Campbell, November 1948 – April 19, 1961

Liberal Party leaders (renewal)

Gildas Molgat, April 20, 1961 – May 10, 1969
Robert Bend, May 10, 1969 – June 25, 1969
Stan Roberts (interim), June 25, 1969 – October 31, 1970
Israel Asper, October 31, 1970 – February 22, 1975
Charles Huband, February 22, 1975 – 1978
Vacant 1978 - November 30, 1980 (Senator Gildas Molgat was party president)
1. Lloyd Axworthy 1977 – 1979 (parliamentary leader)
2. June Westbury 1979 – 1980 (parliamentary leader)
Doug Lauchlan, November 30, 1980 – 1982
Vacant 1982 - March 4, 1984 (Senator Gildas Molgat was party president)
Sharon Carstairs, March 4, 1984 – June 4, 1993
Paul Edwards, June 4, 1993 – October 19, 1996
Ginny Hasselfield, October 19, 1996 – October 17, 1998
Jon Gerrard, October 17, 1998 – October 26, 2013
Rana Bokhari, October 26, 2013 – September 24, 2016
Paul Hesse (acting), September 24, 2016 – October 21, 2016
1. Jon Gerrard, September 24, 2016 – October 21, 2016 (parliamentary leader)
Judy Klassen (interim), October 21, 2016 – June 13, 2017 (resigned to run for leader)
Paul Brault (acting), June 13, 2017 – October 21, 2017
1. Jon Gerrard, June 13, 2017 – October 21, 2017
Dougald Lamont October 21, 2017 – October 3, 2023
Cindy Lamoureux (interim), October 17, 2023 – present

(Note: Stan Roberts served as the party's acting leader from 1969 to 1970, after Robert Bend was defeated in the province's 1969 election. Although Lloyd Axworthy was the party's only MLA from 1977 to 1979, he was never party leader. Likewise Jon Gerrard remained the party's only MLA between 2013 and 2016 after relinquishing the party leadership in 2013.)

Election Results

Election	Leader	Seats won	Seat change	Seats place	Popular vote	% of popular vote	Government
1879	–	2 / 24		2nd			Conservative Majority
1883	Thomas Greenway	10 / 30	8	2nd			Conservative Majority
1886		15 / 35	5	2nd			Conservative Majority
1888		33 / 38	18	1st			Liberal Majority
1892		28 / 40	5	1st			Liberal Majority
1896		32 / 40	4	1st			Liberal Majority
1899		17 / 40	15	2nd			Conservative Majority
1903		8 / 40	9	2nd	23,740	44.60%	Conservative Majority
1907	Edward Brown	13 / 41	5	2nd	29,476	47.90%	Conservative Majority
1910	Tobias Norris	13 / 41		2nd	35,353	47.1%	Conservative Majority
1914		20 / 49	7	2nd	61,797	42.36	Conservative Majority
1915		40 / 47	20	1st		55.1%	Liberal Majority
1920		21 / 55	19	1st		35.1%	Liberal Minority
1922		8 / 55	13	2nd		33.2%	Progressive Majority
1927	Hugh Robson	7 / 55	1	3rd		20.7%	Progressive Majority
1932	John Bracken	38 / 55		1st		39.6%	Liberal-Progressive Majority¹
1936		23 / 55	15	1st		35.3%	Liberal–Progressive Majority
1941		27 / 55	4	1st		35.1%	Liberal–Progressive-led Coalition
1945		25 / 55	2	1st		32.2%	Liberal–Progressive-led Coalition
1949	Douglas Lloyd Campbell	31 / 57	6	1st		38.7%	Liberal–Progressive-led Coalition
1953		35 / 57	4	1st	117,887	44.05%	Liberal–Progressive Majority
1958		19 / 57	16	2nd	–	34.7%	PC Minority
1959		11 / 57	8	2nd	94,799	30.0%%	PC Majority
1962	Gildas Molgat	13 / 57	2	2nd	103,283	36.1%	PC Majority²
1966	Gildas Molgat	14 / 57	1	2nd	107,841	33.13%	PC Majority
1969	Robert Bend	5 / 57	9	3rd	80,288	23.99%	NDP Minority
1973	Izzy Asper	5 / 57		3rd	88,907	19.04%	NDP Majority
1977	Charles Huband	1 / 57	4	3rd	59,865	12.29%	PC Majority
1981	Doug Lauchlan	0 / 57	1	no seats	32,373	6.70%	NDP Majority
1986	Sharon Carstairs	1 / 57	1	3rd	66,469	13.92%	NDP Majority
1988		20 / 57	19	2nd	190,913	35.52%	PC Minority
1990		7 / 57	13	3rd	138,146	28.15%	PC Majority
1995	Paul Edwards	3 / 57	4	3rd	119,677	23.72	PC Majority
1999	Jon Gerrard	1 / 57	2	3rd	66,111	13.4%	NDP Majority
2003		2 / 57	1	3rd	52,123	13.19%	NDP Majority
2007		2 / 57		3rd	51,857	12.39%	NDP Majority
2011		1 / 57	1	3rd	32,420	7.52%	NDP Majority
2016	Rana Bokhari	3 / 57	2	3rd	62,985	14.46%	PC Majority
2019	Dougald Lamont	3 / 57		3rd	67,978	14.48%	PC Majority
2023	Dougald Lamont	1 / 57	2	3rd	51,067	10.8%	NDP Majority

¹Liberals for alliance with the governing Progressive Party to run joint Liberal-Progressive candidates. The parties merge and become the Liberal-Progressive Party.

²Liberal-Progressive Party renames itself the Liberal Party of Manitoba.