Arthur Rivers Boivin (1878 – July 27, 1951) CP (July 28, 1951)
"Former MLA Dies in Manitoba"
''The Vancouver Province''. p. 5. Retrieved April 21, 2021. was a politician in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. He served in 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 gener ...

from 1917 to 1936, and again from 1941 to 1945. Boivin, a Franco-Manitoban and the son of farmer Wilfred Boivin, was first elected to the Manitoba legislature for the constituency of Iberville 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 ...

held on November 1, 1917. Boivin initially served as a member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, which was the dominant party among Manitoba's francophone community at the time. Many Franco-Manitobans shifted away from the Conservative Party after the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Boivin was returned as an independent candidate in the 1920 provincial election, and subsequently affiliated himself with the

United Farmers of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I. See also * List of political parties in Canada ...

(UFM). He was easily re-elected as a UFM candidate in the 1922 provincial election. The UFM won the 1922 election, and formed government as the

Progressive Party of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I. See also *List of political parties in Canada ...

. Boivin served as a backbench supporter of

John Bracken John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...

's administration, and was re-elected as a pro-government independent candidate in the elections of 1927 and 1932. Prior to the 1932 election, the Progressive Party of Manitoba joined with the

Manitoba Liberal Party The Manitoba Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Manitoba) is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870. Origins and early development (to 1883) Origina ...

to form a "Liberal-Progressive" alliance. This alliance was made permanent after the election, though it did not always prevent Liberals and Progressives from running against one another in specific constituencies. Boivin was challenged by a pro-government Liberal named

John Lamont John Robert Lamont (born 15 April 1976) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician and solicitor who has served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk since 2017. Lamont previo ...

in the 1936 election, and lost by 82 votes. Again campaigning as a pro-government independent candidate, Boivin challenged Lamont in the 1941 provincial election and won without difficulty. Though he still supported the Liberal-Progressive government, Boivin sometimes sided with the small opposition caucus in legislative debates after 1941. He retired from the assembly in 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boivin, Arthur 1878 births 1951 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Franco-Manitoban people