Gwen Charles (born July 19, 1949 in Lindsay,

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 ...

) is 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, a ...

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. She was a 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 gener ...

from 1988 to 1990, representing the riding of Selkirk for the

Manitoba Liberal Party The Manitoba Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Manitoba) is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870. Origins and early development (to 1883) Origina ...

. The daughter of Allen Glover, she grew up in Belleville Ontario and began her career at the municipal level, serving as a councillor in the town of Selkirk. She married Garry James Gordon Charles in 1969. Charles first ran for provincial office in the election of 1986, finishing third in the Selkirk riding with 1023 votes. At the time, the riding's MLA was

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

Howard Pawley Howard Russell Pawley (November 21, 1934 – December 30, 2015) was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988. Prior to his premiership, Pawley served in various ministerial positions after his t ...

, the provincial

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. In early 1988, Pawley's government was unexpectedly defeated when disgruntled backbencher

Jim Walding Derek James Walding (May 9, 1937 – April 23, 2007) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1971 to 1988 and served as speaker of the assembly from 1982 to 1986. Walding was a member of ...

voted against his party's annual budget in an evenly divided legislature. Pawley stepped down as premier and did not run in the election which followed. With the riding open, Charles was able to defeat NDP candidate Terry Sargeant by just 184 votes. The Liberals increased their parliamentary representation from one to twenty in this election, and Charles spent the next two years in the official opposition. In 1990, she supported

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

for the leadership of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

. Like many of her Liberal colleagues, she was defeated in the 1990 election amid a general decline in support for her party (once again, she placed third behind the NDP and Progressive Conservative candidates). Gwen moved back to Ontario and built one of the first social enterprises, Pivotal Services of London, winning the Peter F. Drucker Award for Innovation.

Elections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Gwen Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs 1949 births Living people Women MLAs in Manitoba