Colonel George Clingan (March 28, 1868
short bio at

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 ...

– January 24, 1944) was a physician, soldier and 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

from 1914 to 1922, as 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Clingan was born in

Dufferin County Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Wade Mills. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of , ...

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 ...

, the son of Flemming Clingan and Mary Ann Cumberland, and was educated in Orangeville and at the Toronto Medical College. He received certification as a physician and surgeon. Clingan practised medicine in the village of Horning's Mills in Ontario, later moving to Manitoba. He also became a Major in the 12th Manitoba Dragoons. Clingan began his military career with the Dragoons in 1898, and saw military service overseas in

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with a hospital unit during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1938, he was named president of the Manitoba Medical Association. In religion, he was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. Clingan married Ida Thompson. From 1908 to 1909, Clingan served as mayor of

Virden, Manitoba Virden is a town in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Oil was first discovered in 1951, and Virden has since come to be known as the "Oil Capital of Manitoba". History Virden has its roots as a farming community known as Gopher Creek. However, it b ...

. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1914, defeating

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 Harvey C. Simpson by eighty-five votes in the rural, southwestern riding of Virden. The Conservatives won this election, and Clingan served with his party in opposition. In 1915, the Conservative government of

Rodmond Roblin Sir Rodmond Palen Roblin (February 15, 1853 – February 16, 1937) was a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada. Early life and career Roblin was born in Sophiasburgh Township, Ontario, Sophiasburgh, in Prince Edward County, Ontario, ...

was forced to resign amid a corruption scandal. The Liberals formed government, and won a landslide majority in the provincial election of 1915. Clingan was re-elected in Virden with an increased majority, and served as a backbench supporter of

Tobias Norris Tobias Crawford Norris (September 5, 1861 – October 29, 1936) was a Canadian politician who served as the tenth premier of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922. Norris was a member of the Liberal Party.J. M. Bumsted"Tobias Crawford Norris" ''The Cana ...

's government. The Liberals were reduced to a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

in the 1920 election, as Clingan defeated his

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

opponent R.E. Knight by 291 votes. Two years later, in the 1922 election, he lost his seat to

United Farmers of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I. See also * List of political parties in Canada ...

candidate

Robert Mooney Robert Henry Mooney (August 10, 1873 – January 30, 1953) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1922 to 1953. Early life Mooney was born on August 10, 1873 in Wingham, Ontario, the son of ...

by 677 votes. Mooney went on to hold the seat until his death in 1953. He died in Virden in 1944 from injuries received in an automobile accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clingan, George 1868 births 1944 deaths Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Mayors of places in Manitoba Road incident deaths in Canada