Hugh Armstrong (August 5, 1858 – March 4, 1926) was a 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

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 1892 to 1896 and from 1902 to 1915, and was a senior

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 government of Rodmond Roblin. Armstrong was a member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

Early life

Armstrong was born in

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, in 1858, and moved to

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with his parents one year later. He moved to Manitoba in 1883, and settled in Portage la Prairie in 1896. He worked as a fish exporter, and was a prominent figure in Manitoba's early fish industry.

Political career

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1892, winning without opposition in the Woodlands constituency. The Manitoba Liberal Party won a majority government in this election, and Armstrong sat with the small opposition group. He resigned from the legislature in 1896 to run 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 ...

as a candidate of the federal

. He lost the riding of Selkirk to Liberal Party candidate John Alexander MacDonell by a single vote. The Manitoba Conservative Party formed government in 1900, initially under

Hugh John Macdonald Sir Hugh John Macdonald, (March 13, 1850 – March 29, 1929) was the only surviving son of the first prime minister of Canada, John A. Macdonald. He too was a politician, serving as a member of the House of Commons of Canada and a federal cabine ...

and subsequently under Rodmond Roblin. Armstrong returned to the legislature in 1902, and the sitting member for Portage la Prairie died. He was again returned without opposition, and sat as a government backbencher. Armstrong was re-elected in the 1903 election, defeating Liberal candidate Edward Brown by thirty-three votes. Brown became leader of the provincial Liberal Party in 1907, and again challenged Armstrong in that year's general election. Armstrong was again victorious, defeating Brown by 223 votes. Armstrong entered Roblin's cabinet on November 19, 1908, in the senior portfolio 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 ...

. He served in this capacity for the remainder of his career in politics. In the 1910 election, he defeated Liberal challenger

Ewan McPherson Ewan Alexander McPherson (January 27, 1878 – November 18, 1954) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1926 to 1930. He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to ...

by 201 votes. MacPherson challenged Armstrong again in the 1914 provincial election, and this time defeated him by ten votes. The Conservatives again won a majority government, and Armstrong returned to the legislature after winning a deferred election in the northern constituency of

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. In 1915, the Roblin ministry was forced to resign from office after a report commissioned by the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

found the government guilty of corruption in the tendering of contracts for new legislative buildings. Armstrong resigned from office on May 12, 1915, and did not seek re-election in the 1915 campaign.

References

* ''Delta History News'' - Vol. 2 No. 4 (February 2004)
University of Manitoba
Delta Marsh History Initiative.

External links

Manitoba Historical Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Hugh 1858 births 1926 deaths Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Finance ministers of Manitoba