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 A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the governments of Dufferin Roblin and Walter Weir. His uncle, Harry Evans, was an Edmonton mayor. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of William Sanford Evans, a Winnipeg mayor and Conservative MLA and party leader, and

Irene Gurney Mary Irene Gurney Evans (c. 1870 – August 29, 1951) was a pianist and clubwoman in Manitoba. Biography Gurney was born in Toronto, the daughter of Edward Gurney and Mary Frances Cromwell, and was educated there and at the New England Conserva ...

, Evans was educated at Ridley College and the University of Manitoba, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree. He became a publisher at his father's firm of Sanford Evans & Co. Ltd., and was assistant director of Ordnance Services in the Canadian Army from 1942 to 1946, reaching the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He received the Order of the British Empire, and was a member of the Canadian

Empire Club The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

. Evans served as executive director for the Carswell-Shaw Commission which assessed Manitoba flood damages in 1950 and was executive director of the Red River Valley Board following the 1950 flood. He was also chairman of the Manitoba Civil Service Commission. Evans was a longtime friend of Dufferin Roblin, and was personally encouraged by Roblin to run for the provincial Progressive Conservatives. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1953 provincial election, in the riding of Winnipeg South. This riding elected four members by preferential balloting; Evans finished fourth on the first ballot, was declared elected on the sixth and final count. In 1954, members of the Winnipeg Press Gallery unanimously endorsed him as the "most dignified man in the house" at their annual dinner. He was re-elected in the 1958 provincial election, easily winning in the redistributed single-member constituency of Fort Rouge. The Progressive Conservatives formed 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 ...

after this election, and Evans was named Minister of Industry and Commerce and Minister of Mines and Natural Resources on June 30, 1958. The PCs won a

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...

in the 1959 election. Evans, easily returned, was relieved of the MNR portfolio on August 7, 1959, and named Provincial Secretary on December 21. Evans was re-elected again in the provincial elections of

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 ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. He stopped serving as Provincial Secretary on June 12, 1963. On July 22, 1966, was promoted from Industry and Commerce to the high-profile position of

Provincial Treasurer In Canadian politics the Provincial Treasurer is a senior portfolio in the Executive Council (or cabinet) of provincial governments. The position is the provincial equivalent of the Minister of Finance and is responsible for setting the provinc ...

and Minister of Mines and Natural Resources. Walter Weir retained Evans in these positions when he replaced Roblin as Premier in 1967. As Treasurer, Evans suggested separating capital from operating in the budget. The Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 1969 provincial election, and Evans lost his seat to

Cy Gonick Cy Gonick (born April 8, 1936) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1969 to 1973, sitting as a member of the New Democratic Party. Gonick was born in Winnipeg to Louis Gonick an ...

of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

by 273 votes in the redistributed riding of

Crescentwood Crescentwood is a former electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created in 1969, abolished in 1979, re-established in 1989, and abolished again in 1999. The Crescentwood riding was located in Winnipeg's south-central re ...

. He did not seek a return to provincial office after this time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gurney 1907 births 1987 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Finance ministers of Manitoba