Isaac Bertie Griffiths (March 29, 1882 – July 10, 1970) 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 1922 to 1941, and was 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 government of

John Bracken John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...

. Griffiths was born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of William Houghton Griffiths and Alice Griffiths. His father was a manufacturer, working in the production of iron and electrical fixtures. The younger Griffiths was educated at South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

College, and came to Canada in 1903. In 1906, he married Florence Coles. He worked as a farmer, and served as director of the

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 ...

(UFM) in Marquette in 1918-19. When the UFM entered politics in the 1922 provincial election, Griffiths stood as a candidate and was elected for

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **Ru ...

, defeating

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

incumbent William W.W. Wilson by 396 votes. After this election, the UFM formed government as the

Progressive Party 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 ...

. Griffiths initially served as a government backbencher, and was returned by 291 votes in the 1927 election. Prior to the 1932 election, the Progressive and Liberal parties formed an alliance to prevent the Conservatives from winning. Government members became known as "Liberal-Progressives" after this time. Griffiths was re-elected with a much increased majority, and was appointed to cabinet on May 28, 1935 as

Minister of Health and Public Welfare Manitoba Health (formerly Health, and Seniors Care, MHSC; also known as Manitoba Health) is the department of the Government of Manitoba that is responsible for leading the development of policy and publicly-administered health system planning i ...

. Narrowly returned over an

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

candidate in the 1936 provincial election, Griffiths continued to serve in cabinet until the creation of an all-party

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

in 1940. He resigned from cabinet on November 4, 1940, and did not seek re-election in 1941. He died 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 ...

at the age of 88.,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Isaac 1882 births 1970 deaths English emigrants to Canada People from Walsall Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba