David Alexander Best (November 21, 1880 in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

– February 1, 1949) 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 1941 to 1945 as an anti-coalition Conservative. Born in Derry, the son of David Best and Martha Peden, Best was educated at

Foyle College Foyle College is a co-educational non-denominational voluntary grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The school's legal name is Foyle and Londonderry College. In 1976, two local schools, Foyle College and Londonderry High School, merged und ...

, worked for the British civil service and then moved to Canada in 1911. He worked as an accountant and printing salesman, and was elected as the

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

of St. James, Manitoba in 1938. In 1907, he married Rachel Watterson. Best was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1941. Prior to this election, the

Conservative Party of Manitoba The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Manitoba) is a centre-right political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is currently the governing party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, after winnin ...

entered a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

led by the Liberal Progressive Party and also including the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and Social Credit. A number of Conservatives opposed joining the coalition, and ran for the legislature against their party's position. Best was one of three anti-coalition Conservatives elected to the legislature in 1941. He defeated CCF incumbent

James Aiken James Aiken (July 22, 1888 – November 4, 1974) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1936 to 1941, as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Manitoba Section), Manitoba Coop ...

in Assiniboia by 274 votes, and served as an opposition member for the parliament that followed. In 1943, the Conservative Party changed its name to the Progressive Conservative Party. Best ran in the 1945 provincial election as an official Progressive Conservative candidate, but lost to CCF candidate

Ernest Draffin Ernest Richard Draffin (September 21, 1909 – December 19, 1982) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1945 to 1949 as a member of the social-democratic Cooperative Commonwealth Federation. ...

by 170 votes. He died at home in Winnipeg at the age of 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best, David 1880 births 1949 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs People educated at Foyle College