Abram William Harrison (July 15, 1898 in

Holmfield Holmfield is an area of Halifax in West Yorkshire, England, north of the town centre. Early maps show no village in the area. Holmfield was developed in the 19th century after a mill, known as Holme Field Mill, was built on Strines Beck in the ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

– November 14, 1979) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gen ...

from 1943 to 1966, initially as a Conservative and later as a Progressive Conservative, after the party changed its name. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of

Dufferin Roblin Dufferin "Duff" Roblin, (June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2010) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 14th premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre ...

. The son of William S. Harrison and Maria Wilkinson, Harrison was educated in Holmfield, and was the manager of Harrison Milling and Grain Co. before entering politics. He was also a member of the Killarney Lodge. In 1937, he married Amelia Sutherland. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on July 22, 1943, in the constituency of

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...

. The Liberal-Progressives and Conservatives governed Manitoba in a grand coalition during this period, and Harrison served as a backbench supporter of Stuart Garson's ministry. Notwithstanding the coalition, some Liberal-Progressives ran against Progressive Conservative incumbents in the 1945 provincial election. Harrison narrowly fended off a challenge from LP candidate G.M. Harrison, winning by only 150 votes on the second count of a preferential ballot. He was re-elected again in the 1949 election, easily defeating an anti-coalition maverick from the Liberal-Progressives. The Progressive Conservatives left the coalition government in 1950. Harrison moved to the opposition benches, and was re-elected in the 1953 election. He appears to have supported

Errick Willis Errick French Willis (March 21, 1896 – January 9, 1967) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as leader of the province's Conservative Party between 1936 and 1954, and was responsible for beginning and ending the party's allia ...

against a leadership challenge from

in 1954. The Progressive Conservative Party formed a minority government under Dufferin Roblin following the 1958 election. Harrison defeated Liberal-Progressive candidate Walter E. Clark by 238 votes in the redistributed constituency of Rock Lake, and was appointed by Roblin as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the Manitoba legislature on October 23, 1958. The opposition Liberals opposed Harrison's appointment, on the grounds that Roblin should have consulted with opposition leaders before making his selection. He was nonetheless confirmed, and was regarded as a good if unspectacular office-holder. Harrison defeated Clark a second time in the 1959 election, and was retained in the Speaker's chair. Harrison defeated Liberal candidate Harry Parsonage by 429 votes in the 1962 election. He was replaced as Speaker on February 27, 1963, and formally entered Roblin's government as a minister without portfolio. He retained this position until May 15, 1966, and did not contest the 1966 election. He died at home in Holmfield at the age of 81.

Family

His grandson, Scott Newman, was the Liberal Party candidate for Radisson at the 2016 Manitoba provincial elections. His son Bill Harrison ran the Holmfield Mill until its closure in the late 1990's. Bill's wife Jean is a passionate artist who now looks after the mill with Bill’s brother Errick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Abram 1898 births 1979 deaths Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba