Gordon Churchill
Encyclopedia
Gordon Minto Churchill, PC
, DSO
(November 8, 1898 in Coldwater, Ontario
– August 3, 1985) was a Canadian
politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
from 1946 to 1949 as an independent representative, and in the Canadian House of Commons
from 1951 to 1968 as a Progressive Conservative
. He was a federal cabinet minister in the government of John Diefenbaker
.
Churchill was educated at United College in Winnipeg and at the University of Manitoba
, receiving a Master of Arts
degree and a law degree. He worked as a teacher and school principal, and served as president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society. He also was a member of the law firm
of Haig and Haig in Winnipeg, dominated by the family of Conservative
politician John Thomas Haig
.
Churchill saw action in both World Wars. He served overseas in World War I
from 1916 to 1919 as a Vickers Machine Gunner. During World War II
, he served from 1939 to 1945 with the Fort Garry Horse and C.O. 1st Canadian Carrier Regiment in Northwestern Europe. In 1945, he became Dean of Faculty at Khaki University
in England
.
Churchill's political career began in January 1946, when he was elected to the Manitoba legislature in a special by-election for Manitobans in the Canadian Army, who had not been able to cast ballots in the 1945 provincial election
. Despite his ties to the Progressive Conservative Party, he served in the legislature as an independent member for the next four years.
He resigned from the Manitoba legislature in 1949 to run for the Canadian House of Commons. Running in Winnipeg South Centre
, he finished a distant second against Liberal
candidate Ralph Maybank
.
Maybank resigned two years later, and Churchill was narrowly elected over Liberal Norman Wright to replace him. He was returned by a greater margin in the 1953 federal election
, and by a significant majority in the 1957 election
.
Churchill was a key adviser to Progressive Conservative Party leader John Diefenbaker during this peiod, and was widely credited with developing the strategy that propelled Diefenbaker to victory in 1957. The Liberal Party of Louis St. Laurent
had been in power since 1935, and appeared to have strong popular support. Prior to the 1957 election, Churchill wrote a confidential paper arguing that the Progressive Conservative Party could form government by targeting seats in the English-speaking provinces, and did not need to invest resources in Quebec
. Diefenbaker followed this strategy, and won a minority government
in 1957.
Churchill was appointed to Diefenbaker's cabinet on June 21, 1957 as Minister of Trade and Commerce. Later in the year, he led a 57-member trade delegation to the United Kingdom
, touring firms throughout the country.
The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected with a landslide majority in the 1958 federal election
, and Churchill defeated his nearest opponent in Winnipeg South Centre by a margin of almost 20,000 votes. Churchill gave approval in 1959 for Canada's first commercial power nuclear reactor
, a CANDU design, to be built at Douglas Point
, Ontario
. In addition to holding the Trade and Commerce portfolio, he served as acting Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
from January 14 to September 10, 1960. On October 17, 1960, he was confirmed to this position on a full-time basis. After a cabinet shuffle on October 11, 1960, he was named Minister of Veterans Affairs
.
The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected in the 1962 federal election
, but were again reduced to a minority government. Churchill's majority against Liberal Ed Russenholt
fell to only 2,000 votes. After another cabinet shuffle on February 12, 1963, he was promoted to Minister of National Defence
. He had not served two months in this position when the Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 1963 federal election
. Churchill defeated Liberal clergyman Fred Douglas in a further reduced majority, and served as opposition House Leader in the parliament which followed.
Churchill again defeated Douglas by about 2,000 votes in the 1965 federal election
, which the Progressive Conservatives also lost.
During the flag debates of the 1960s, Churchill referred to the new Canadian flag as a "piece of bunting". The Ottawa Citizen
quoted him describing Prime Minister Lester Pearson as "a sawdust Caesar, reminding me of Mussolini, trying to force the country to accept his personal choice for a flag."
Churchill remained loyal to John Diefenbaker
during the Progressive Conservative Party's internal quarrels of the 1960s, and continued to work for Diefenbaker at the party's 1967 leadership convention
. When Dienbaker left the race, he sent Churchill as an emissary to Dufferin Roblin
's camp to accept a Roblin badge.
In February 1968, Churchill attacked new Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield
for not forcing an election when the Liberal government of Lester Pearson was unexpectedly defeated in the house. He left the Progressive Conservative caucus on February 27, 1968 to sit as an Independent Progressive Conservative, and did not run for re-election in the 1968 campaign
.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(November 8, 1898 in Coldwater, 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....
– August 3, 1985) was a Canadian
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...
politician. 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 1946 to 1949 as an independent representative, and 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 1951 to 1968 as a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
. He was a federal cabinet minister in the government of John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
.
Churchill was educated at United College in Winnipeg and at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
, receiving a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree and a law degree. He worked as a teacher and school principal, and served as president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society. He also was a member of the law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
of Haig and Haig in Winnipeg, dominated by the family of 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:...
politician John Thomas Haig
John Thomas Haig
John Thomas Haig, PC was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as parliamentary leader of the Manitoba Conservative Party in 1921-22....
.
Churchill saw action in both World Wars. He served overseas in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
from 1916 to 1919 as a Vickers Machine Gunner. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served from 1939 to 1945 with the Fort Garry Horse and C.O. 1st Canadian Carrier Regiment in Northwestern Europe. In 1945, he became Dean of Faculty at Khaki University
Khaki University
Khaki University was a Canadian educational institution set up and managed by the general staff of the Canadian Army in Britain 1917-19 during the First World War and again 1945-46 in the Second.-History:-Founders:...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Churchill's political career began in January 1946, when he was elected to the Manitoba legislature in a special by-election for Manitobans in the Canadian Army, who had not been able to cast ballots 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...
. Despite his ties to the Progressive Conservative Party, he served in the legislature as an independent member for the next four years.
He resigned from the Manitoba legislature in 1949 to run for the Canadian House of Commons. Running in Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1979 and since 1988.-Geography:...
, he finished a distant second against Liberal
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...
candidate Ralph Maybank
Ralph Maybank
H. Ralph Maybank was a politician from Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1932 to 1935, and in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1951. Maybank was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.Maybank was born in London, Ontario...
.
Maybank resigned two years later, and Churchill was narrowly elected over Liberal Norman Wright to replace him. He was returned by a greater margin in the 1953 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1953
The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...
, and by a significant majority in the 1957 election
Canadian federal election, 1957
The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative Party , led by John Diefenbaker, brought an end to 22 years of Liberal rule, as the...
.
Churchill was a key adviser to Progressive Conservative Party leader John Diefenbaker during this peiod, and was widely credited with developing the strategy that propelled Diefenbaker to victory in 1957. The Liberal Party of Louis St. Laurent
Louis St. Laurent
Louis Stephen St. Laurent, PC, CC, QC , was the 12th Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948, to 21 June 1957....
had been in power since 1935, and appeared to have strong popular support. Prior to the 1957 election, Churchill wrote a confidential paper arguing that the Progressive Conservative Party could form government by targeting seats in the English-speaking provinces, and did not need to invest resources in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Diefenbaker followed this strategy, and won a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
in 1957.
Churchill was appointed to Diefenbaker's cabinet on June 21, 1957 as Minister of Trade and Commerce. Later in the year, he led a 57-member trade delegation to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, touring firms throughout the country.
The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected with a landslide majority in the 1958 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1958
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
, and Churchill defeated his nearest opponent in Winnipeg South Centre by a margin of almost 20,000 votes. Churchill gave approval in 1959 for Canada's first commercial power nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
, a CANDU design, to be built at Douglas Point
Douglas Point
The Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station was Canada’s first full-scale nuclear power plant and the second CANDU Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor....
, 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....
. In addition to holding the Trade and Commerce portfolio, he served as acting Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)
The Leader of the government in the House of Commons , more commonly known as the Government House Leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Canadian House of Commons...
from January 14 to September 10, 1960. On October 17, 1960, he was confirmed to this position on a full-time basis. After a cabinet shuffle on October 11, 1960, he was named Minister of Veterans Affairs
Minister of Veterans Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Veterans Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet whose position was created in 1944. The Department of Veterans Affairs Canada was split from the Department of Pensions and National Health and was given the responsibility of administering benefits and pensions...
.
The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected in the 1962 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
, but were again reduced to a minority government. Churchill's majority against Liberal Ed Russenholt
Ed Russenholt
Ed Stanford Russenholt was best known as CBWT's first weather person. Ed distinguished himself from other weathermen by saying "Ah, yes, the heart of the continent" in his weathercasts...
fell to only 2,000 votes. After another cabinet shuffle on February 12, 1963, he was promoted to Minister of National Defence
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....
. He had not served two months in this position when the Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 1963 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
. Churchill defeated Liberal clergyman Fred Douglas in a further reduced majority, and served as opposition House Leader in the parliament which followed.
Churchill again defeated Douglas by about 2,000 votes in the 1965 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
, which the Progressive Conservatives also lost.
During the flag debates of the 1960s, Churchill referred to the new Canadian flag as a "piece of bunting". The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
quoted him describing Prime Minister Lester Pearson as "a sawdust Caesar, reminding me of Mussolini, trying to force the country to accept his personal choice for a flag."
Churchill remained loyal to John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
during the Progressive Conservative Party's internal quarrels of the 1960s, and continued to work for Diefenbaker at the party's 1967 leadership convention
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1967
The 1967 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held to choose a leader for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. The convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 4th and 9th, 1967...
. When Dienbaker left the race, he sent Churchill as an emissary to Dufferin Roblin
Dufferin Roblin
Dufferin "Duff" Roblin, PC, CC, OM was a Canadian businessman and politician. Known as "Duff," he served as the 14th Premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In the government of Brian Mulroney, he served as...
's camp to accept a Roblin badge.
In February 1968, Churchill attacked new Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield
Robert Stanfield
Robert Lorne Stanfield, PC, QC was the 17th Premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. He is sometimes referred to as "the greatest prime minister Canada never had", and earned the nickname "Honest Bob"...
for not forcing an election when the Liberal government of Lester Pearson was unexpectedly defeated in the house. He left the Progressive Conservative caucus on February 27, 1968 to sit as an Independent Progressive Conservative, and did not run for re-election in the 1968 campaign
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
.