15th Manitoba Legislature

The members of the 15th Manitoba Legislature were elected in the Manitoba general election held in August 1915. The legislature sat from January 6, 1916, to March 27, 1920.[1]

The Liberal Party led by Tobias Norris formed the government.[1]

Albert Prefontaine of the Conservatives was Leader of the Opposition.[2]

On January 16, 1916, a bill was passed to amend the Manitoba Election Act to grant women the right to vote. Manitoba became the first Canadian province where women were allowed to vote and hold office.[3]

In a referendum held on March 13, 1916, the province's voters supported prohibition. On June 1, the Manitoba Temperance Act came into effect, which banned the sale of liquor in the province, except by pharmacists for medical purposes. However, bringing alcohol into the province for personal use or for wholesale outside the province was still legal.[4]

Also in 1916, the Workers Compensation Act was passed, which established the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. The act established an employer-funded compensation system for work-related injuries or illness and, in exchange, employers were granted protection against lawsuits by workers for these occurrences.[5]

In 1918, a Minimum Wage Act was passed. Manitoba and British Columbia were the first provinces in Canada to introduce minimum wage legislation.[6] In 1921, the minimum hourly wage in Manitoba was $0.25. Up until 1931, the minimum wage only applied to female workers.[7]

James Bryson Baird served as speaker for the assembly.[1]

There were five sessions of the 15th Legislature:[1]

Session Start End
1st January 6, 1916 April 1, 1916
2nd January 11, 1917 March 9, 1917
3rd January 17, 1918 March 6, 1918
4th January 21, 1919 March 14, 1919
5th January 22, 1920 March 27, 1920

Douglas Colin Cameron was Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba until August 3, 1916, when James Albert Manning Aikins became lieutenant governor.[8]

Members of the Assembly

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The following members were elected to the assembly in 1915:[1]

Member Electoral district Party[9]
  John Williams Arthur Liberal
  John W. Wilton Assiniboia Liberal
  William Robertson Wood Beautiful Plains Liberal
  George Malcolm Birtle Liberal
  Stephen Emmett Clement Brandon City Liberal
  Albert Prefontaine Carillon Conservative
  Andrew Watson Myles Cypress Liberal
  William Harrington Dauphin Liberal
  Robert Stirton Thornton Deloraine Liberal
  Edward August Dufferin Liberal
  Thomas Glendenning Hamilton Elmwood Liberal
  John David Baskerville Emerson Liberal
  William Findlater Gilbert Plains Liberal
  Taras Ferley Gimli Liberal
  James William Armstrong Gladstone Liberal
  James Breakey Glenwood Liberal
  John Henry McConnell Hamiota Liberal
  Aimé Bénard Iberville Conservative
  George Prout Kildonan and St. Andrews Liberal
  Samuel Hayden Killarney Liberal
  Charles Duncan McPherson Lakeside Liberal
  Tobias Norris Lansdowne Liberal
  Philippe Talbot La Verendrye Liberal
  George Thomas Armstrong Manitou Liberal
  George Grierson Minnedosa Liberal
  Valentine Winkler Morden and Rhineland Liberal
  Jacques Parent Morris Conservative
  James Bryson Baird Mountain Liberal
  John Graham Norfolk Liberal
  Ewan McPherson Portage la Prairie Liberal
  Frederic Newton Roblin Conservative
  Arthur Lobb Rockwood Liberal
  William Wilber Wilfred Wilson Russell Liberal
  Joseph Dumas St. Boniface Liberal
  Donald A. Ross St. Clements Liberal
  Skuli Sigfusson St. George Liberal
  Joseph Hamelin Ste. Rose Conservative
  William Henry Sims Swan River Liberal
  Edward Brown The Pas[nb 1][10] Liberal
  George William McDonald Turtle Mountain Liberal
  George Clingan Virden Liberal
  Thomas Herman Johnson Winnipeg Centre A Liberal
  Fred Dixon Winnipeg Centre B Independent
  Robert Newton Lowery Winnipeg North A Liberal
  Richard Rigg Winnipeg North B Social Democratic
  Albert Hudson Winnipeg South A Liberal
  William Parrish Winnipeg South B Liberal

Notes:

  1. ^ Election held August 25, 1915

By-elections

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By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:

Electoral district Member elected Affiliation Election date Reason
Rupertsland John Morrison Independent-Liberal September 16, 1916[10] New riding created
Iberville Arthur Boivin Conservative November 1, 1917 A Bénard named to Senate of Canada[10]
Roblin William James Westwood Independent-Liberal November 19, 1917 F Newton resigned seat[10]
Killarney George Grierson Liberal November 30, 1917 G Grierson appointed Minister of Public Works[10]
Winnipeg North B Robert Jacob Union January 15, 1918 R Rigg ran for federal seat[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Members of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (1916–1920) (1914–1915)". Memorable Manitobans. Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  2. ^ "Leaders of the Opposition - Manitoba". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  3. ^ "Women's Right to Vote in Canada". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  4. ^ Woolley, Jon (2003). "A century of integrity: Manitoba Justice, 1870–1970" (PDF). Government of Manitoba. pp. 31–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  5. ^ "Overview". Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  6. ^ "Minimum wage laws – the state of pay in Canada". CBC News. January 23, 2009.
  7. ^ "Historical Summary of Minimum Wage Rates in Manitoba". Government of Manitoba. Archived from the original on 2015-08-28. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
  8. ^ "Past lieutenant governors". Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. Archived from the original on 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  9. ^ "Historical Summaries" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "MLA Biographies - Deceased". Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Archived from the original on 2014-03-30.