Donald Craik (August 26, 1931 – September 2, 1985) 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
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. He was a
Progressive Conservative 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 1966 to 1981, and served as a
cabinet minister in the governments of
Walter Weir
Walter Cocksmith Weir (June 7, 1929 – April 17, 1985) was a Canadian politician. Weir served as the 15th premier of Manitoba from 1967 to 1969.
The son of James Dixon Weir, he was born in Hugh Bluff, Manitoba and was educated there and i ...
and
Sterling Lyon
Sterling Rufus Lyon (January 30, 1927 – December 16, 2010) was a Canadian lawyer, cabinet minister, and the 17th premier of Manitoba from 1977 to 1981. His government introduced several fiscally-conservative measures, and was sometimes seen a ...
.
Born in
Baldur
Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was k ...
,
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 ...
, Craik was educated at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.[University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...](_blank)
, earning his
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
and
Master of Education
The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...
degrees. He worked as a mechanical engineer and associate professor of engineering after his graduation. He was the chairman of the St. Vital School Board from 1962 to 1964, and director the
Manitoba Research Council from 1964 to 1966. Craik also worked as a consulting engineer in Winnipeg from 1966 until his death.
He married the former Shirley Hill and they had three children: Judy (1958), Polly (1961), and Donna (1964). During the 1970s, Craik opened Fine Line Telephone Answering and Secretarial Services.
He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the
provincial election of 1966, scoring a relatively easy victory in the
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
riding of
St. Vital. Despite his youth and relative inexperience, he was appointed to cabinet on November 7, 1967, as
Minister of Mines and Natural Resources
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
. On September 24, 1968, he was named
Minister of Youth and Education with responsibility for the
Public Libraries Act and the
Legislative Library Act.
As education minister, Craik passed legislation allowing aboriginal Canadians to vote (and be elected to) local school boards. He credited a private member's bill from
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National ...
MLA
Sidney Green as the inspiration for this legislation.
His first tenure in cabinet proved short-lived, as the Tories lost the
1969 election to the
New Democratic Party. Craik himself defeated New Democratic challenger
James Buchanan by only 29 votes in the redistributed riding of
Riel Riel may refer to:
Places
* Riel, Netherlands, a town in the Netherlands
*Riel (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, named after Louis Riel
* Riel, Winnipeg, a community committee comprising three city wards
Pe ...
. In the
1973 election, he defeated cabinet minister
Wilson Parasiuk by a slightly greater margin.
The Tories returned to power in the
1977 election, and Craik was re-elected
over NDP candidate
Doreen Dodick by almost 4,000 votes. On October 24, 1977, he was appointed
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
, Chairman of the Manitoba Energy Council and minister responsible for
Manitoba Hydro
The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Boa ...
. He held these positions until January 16, 1981, and also served as
Chairman of the Treasury Board from October 20, 1978 to November 23, 1979 and
Minister of Energy and Mines with responsibility for
Manitoba Forestry Resources Limited.
On January 16, 1981, Craik was appointed
deputy premier
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
,
with responsibility for the
Manitoba Energy Council and the
Manitoba Development Corporation
, 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 ...
.
The Tories lost power to the NDP in the
1981 provincial election, and Craik personally lost to Doreen Dodick
by 242 votes in a rematch from 1977.
He died at his cottage at Clearwater Bay, Ontario in 1985, at the relatively young age of 54.
He had previously suffered a heart attack in the 1970s.
There is currently a Donald Craik Engineering Library at the University of Manitoba.
The same institution offers a Don Craik Memorial Scholarship.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craik, Donald
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs
1931 births
1985 deaths
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni
Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba
Finance ministers of Manitoba
University of Manitoba alumni