Edward Russell Helwer is 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 as a Progressive 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:...

 member of the Manitoba legislature from 1988 to 2003. Although the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party was in power for most of this period, Helwer was never appointed to a cabinet position (though he did serve as Party Whip at one point).

Helwer was born in Selkirk

Selkirk, Manitoba

Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....

, Manitoba. He worked as an Esso

Esso

Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...

 agent from 1963 to 1974, and was a Macleod Authorized Dealer from 1974 to 1983. From 1976 to 1996, he was also the owner of a small business called Rockwood Farm Supplies. Helwer served as a municipal councillor in Teulon

Teulon, Manitoba

Teulon is a community located approximately 60 kilometers north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on Provincial Truck Highway 7. Located between Stonewall and Gimli, Teulon is commonly referred to as "The Gateway to the Interlake" and "The Petunia Capital of Manitoba"...

 from 1969 to 1973 and 1977 to 1980, and was the town's Mayor

Mayor

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

 from 1980 to 1988. He was also chair of the Hunter Hospital Board from 1977 to 1987.

Helwer first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1986 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1986

The Manitoba general election of March 18, 1986 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which took 30 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party won 26 seats and formed the official opposition...

, losing to New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party of Manitoba

The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...

 incumbent John Bucklaschuk

John Bucklaschuk

John Bucklaschuk is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988, and a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party government of Howard Pawley from 1982 to 1988.Bucklaschuk was educated at Brandon University and the University of...

 by about 950 votes in the riding of Gimli. In the 1988 election

Manitoba general election, 1988

The Manitoba general election of April 26, 1988 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a minority government...

 (called after the NDP government lost a budget vote and held during a period of unpopularity for the party), Helwer defeated Bucklaschuk by about 1400 votes to win the riding.

Helwer was re-elected easily in the 1990 election

Manitoba general election, 1990

The Manitoba general election of September 11, 1990 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative Party, which took 30 out of 57 seats...

, and was able to defeat NDP challenger Fran Frederickson by about 1800 votes in 1995

Manitoba general election, 1995

The Manitoba general election of April 25,1995 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative Party, which won 31 seats out of 57...

. He faced Frederickson again in the 1999 election

Manitoba general election, 1999

The Manitoba general election of September 21, 1999 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada....

, and saw his majority cut to only 402 votes; the NDP were victorious in the province, and Helwer became Progressive Conservative critic for Government Services and Emergency Management in the opposition.

Helwer did not seek re-election in 2003, and the Gimli riding was subsequently won by the New Democratic Party again.

Helwer was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.