Cornelius W. Wiebe, (February 18, 1893 – July 12, 1999) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
physician and politician.
Early life & education
Wiebe was born to a
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
family in
Altona, Manitoba
Altona is a town in southern Manitoba, Canada, about 100 km south-west of Winnipeg and 158 km north of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The population at the 2011 Census was 4,123 residents. Old Altona was founded in 1880 by Plautdietsch-spe ...
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.MD in 1925.
Career
Wiebe practiced family medicine in
Winkler, Manitoba
Winkler is a city in Manitoba, Canada with a population of 13,745, making it the 4th largest city in Manitoba, as of the 2021 Canadian census. It is located in southern Manitoba, surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Stanley, about one hundre ...
from 1925 to 1978, and, according to local tradition, continued to practice on an informal basis after his retirement. Over the course of 53 years, he delivered over 6,000 babies.
A member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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, he was elected to 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 ...
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
incumbent
Hugh McGavin
Dr. Hugh James McGavin (14 November 1874 – 8 March 1958) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1927 to 1932, as a member of the Conservative Party.
McGavin was born in Paisley, Ontar ...
by 447 votes in the
Morden and Rhineland
Morden and Rhineland is a former provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba, which was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to 1949. The district was created by merging the former districts of Morde ...
constituency. A coalition of Liberals and Progressives won this election, and Wiebe 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 coalition government for the next four years.
Wiebe was the first
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
to serve in the Manitoba legislature. He did not seek re-election in 1936. Though his own political career was brief, he remained a lifetime supporter of the merged Liberal-Progressive Party and its successor, the Manitoba Liberal Party.
Wiebe served as president of the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1945-46, and of the Manitoba Medical Association in 1952-53. He played a prominent role in establishing Winkler's Bethel Hospital in 1935, and the Valley Rehabilitation Centre in 1969. Along with four other doctors, he established the Winkler Medical Clinic in 1974. Wiebe also served on the Winkler school board from 1929 to 1953.
At age 105, Wiebe became the oldest person in Canadian history to be granted the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
. He died at Winkler in 1999, at age 106. The Manitoba legislature paid tribute to his life and held a moment of silence in his honour on December 13, 1999.
In 1983, Mavis Reimer published a biography entitled ''Cornelius W. Wiebe: A Beloved Physician''. As of 1999, Reimer's work was still available through Mennonite Books in Manitoba.