Charles Hubert (Buck) Witney (July 12, 1919
– May 21, 1991) was a
politician in
Manitoba, Canada. He was a
Progressive Conservative member of the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1959 to 1969, and served as a
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
in the governments of
Dufferin Roblin and
Walter Weir.
Witney was born in
Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan.
The son of Percy Howard Witney and Winnifred Marion Herrington, Witney was educated at Technical High School in Moose Jaw, and did not attend university.
During
World War II, he served as a radar mechanic in the
Royal Canadian Air Force.
In 1947, Witney married Vera Ruby Matthews.
He moved to
Flin Flon in 1949. Prior to his election, he was a star personality at
CFAR, at the time the only radio station in Flin Flon.
Known as a
populist, he first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the
1958 provincial election, against
Liberal-Progressive Francis Bud Jobin
Francis Lawrence "Bud" Jobin (August 14, 1914 – August 25, 1995) was a politician and the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, Canada.
Jobin was born in Winnipeg, and was educated at the University of Manitoba. He moved to Flin Flon, i ...
in the riding of
Flin Flon. He lost, but defeated Jobin in the
1959 provincial election, as the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government under the leadership of
Dufferin Roblin. Witney defeated Jobin, who later served as
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. He was appointed
Minister of Mines and Natural Resources on August 7, 1959.
Re-elected in the
1962 provincial election, Witney was appointed
Minister of Health on December 9, 1963. He held this position for the remainder of Roblin's time in office, and was retained in the portfolio when
Walter Weir succeeded Roblin as Premier in 1967.
Many aldermen in
Winnipeg found him extremely stubborn on health-related matters. On September 24, 1968, he was transferred to the
Ministry of Labour.
He was defeated by
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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candidate
Thomas Barrow in the
1969 provincial election, and did not seek re-election after that time.
In 1969, Witney moved to
Toronto, where he served as executive director of the Canadian School Trustees Association. He moved to
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
when the association moved its office there in 1975. Witney died at home in
Nepean at the age of 71.
References
1919 births
1991 deaths
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs
Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba
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