Ernest Richard Draffin (September 21, 1909 – December 19, 1982) was a politician 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 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 1945 to 1949 as a member of the

social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...

. Born in

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 749,6 ...

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 ...

, the son of Ernest Richard Draffin and Margaret McGowan, Draffin was educated at

Brooklands, Manitoba St. James-Assiniboia is a major community area in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As it encapsulates most of the city ward of St. James, which includes the major St. James Street, the area itself is often simply referred to "St. James." Located in th ...

and at the Kiwanis Night School for Boys. He began working at Canadian National Telegraphs in 1925. Originally as a messenger, he later rose to the position of Chief Timekeeper, retiring in 1973. He was a member of the

Commercial Telegraphers Union of America The Commercial Telegraphers Union of America (CTUA) was a United States labor union formed to promote the interests of commercial telegraph operators. Background and early history The first practical telegraph system in the United States was put ...

, and served on the provincial executive of the CCF. Draffin was also active in

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. Draffin also served as president of the Manitoba Football Association, later the Manitoba Soccer Association, helped found the Manitoba Sports Federation and was technical director for soccer at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago ...

. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1945 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate David Best by 180 votes in the suburban Winnipeg constituency of

Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distric ...

. He served as an opposition member in the legislature for the next four years. The CCF suffered an electoral setback in the 1949 provincial election, and Draffin lost his seat to

Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no Liberal-Progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existe ...

candidate

Reginald Wightman Reginald Frederick Wightman (May 28, 1899 – January 23, 1981) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Liberal-Progressive from 1949 to 1958. Wightman was born in Nesbitt, Manitoba. He wa ...

by 1,214 votes. He campaigned in the St. Andrews constituency in the 1953 provincial election, but finished a poor third against Liberal-Progressive Thomas Hillhouse. In the 1958 election, he finished third in Fort Rouge against Progressive Conservative

Gurney Evans Edward Gurney Vaux Evans (September 3, 1907 – January 8, 1987) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1953 to 1969, and served as a cabinet minister in the ...

. Draffin ran for 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 ...

in the 1953 Canadian election, as a candidate of the federal

. He finished third in

Winnipeg South Winnipeg South (french: Winnipeg-Sud) is a Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the southernmost part of the city of Wi ...

against Progressive Conservative Owen C. Trainor. He also campaigned for the

Winnipeg City Council The Winnipeg City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Winnipeg) is the governing body of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Council is seated in the Council Building of Winnipeg City Hall.1953 municipal election, but was defeated in the city's predominantly middle-class first ward. Draffin was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 in recognition of his soccer playing abilities and contributions to the sport. He died in Winnipeg at the age of 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draffin, Ernest 1909 births 1982 deaths Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century Canadian politicians Politicians from Winnipeg