Eric Alfred Winkler (February 13, 1920 – March 18, 1995) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1957 to 1967 who represented the riding of Grey—Bruce. He was also a member of provincial parliament from 1967 to 1975 who represented the riding of

Grey South Grey South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1876 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Grey into ...

. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

Background

Born in

Hanover, Ontario Hanover is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario with a population of about 7,650 residents. It is located in southwestern Grey County, bordering on Bruce County, west of Durham and east of Walkerton on Grey/Bruce Road 4. Hanover has a ci ...

, he worked in a local furniture factory before joining the

RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...

. He served as a flying officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, flying missions over Europe when he was shot down in 1942. He survived but was held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

until his release in 1945. When the war ended, he came home and opened ''Winkler Brothers Menswear''. He and his wife Frances raised two sons and two daughters.

Municipal politics

In 1946, he was elected as an alderman for the city of Hanover and was elected mayor in 1948.

Federal politics

He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of Grey—Bruce in the 1957 federal election. A Progressive Conservative, he was re-elected in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

, and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. From 1963 to 1967, he was the Chief Opposition Whip.

Provincial politics

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

in the riding of

. When

became Premier in March 1971 he named Winkler as Minister of Revenue to his new cabinet. He was re-elected during the fall election in 1971. Early in 1972, he was named Minister of Financial and Commercial Affairs. In the fall of 1972 a minor cabinet shuffle saw Winkler moved to Chair of Management Board where he stayed for the next three years. In the fall election in 1975 he was defeated for by

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate

Bob McKessock Robert Carson McKessock (born February 2, 1933) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1987, as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal Party. Background McKessock was born ...

by 298 votes.

Cabinet posts

Later life

He served as a member of the Ontario Racing Commission in the 1980s. He died at home after a long illness. He was 75.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Eric 1920 births 1995 deaths Mayors of places in Ontario Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Canadian prisoners of war in World War II Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Shot-down aviators Royal Canadian Air Force officers World War II prisoners of war held by Germany