Kenneth MacMaster (born May 12, 1934) 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. He was a Progressive Conservative 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 1977 to 1981, 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 government of

Sterling Lyon Sterling Rufus Lyon (January 30, 1927 – December 16, 2010) was a Canadian lawyer, cabinet minister, and the 17th premier of Manitoba from 1977 to 1981. His government introduced several fiscally-conservative measures, and was sometimes seen a ...

. He was the son of John MacMaster and Jessie Campbell. In 1962, MacMaster married Lucille Rita Desjardins. MacMaster first ran for public office in the federal election of 1965, as a

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 ...

in the northern Manitoba riding of

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

. He received 3306 votes, finishing third behind

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

Robert Simpson and

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 ...

Francis Bud Jobin Francis Lawrence "Bud" Jobin (August 14, 1914 – August 25, 1995) was a politician and the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, Canada. Jobin was born in Winnipeg, and was educated at the University of Manitoba. He moved to Flin Flon, i ...

. At the time of the election, he described his occupation as "mine mechanic". He later left the NDP for the Progressive Conservatives, and was elected for the riding of

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

in the provincial election of 1977, defeating incumbent

Ken Dillen Kenneth George Dillen (April 29, 1938 – April 20, 2020) was a Canadian politician and political activist. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1973 to 1977, serving as a member of the social democratic New Democratic P ...

by 916 votes. The Tories under

won this election; as the sole Tory MLA from the province's north, MacMaster was appointed

Minister of Northern Affairs The minister of northern affairs (french: ministre des Affaires du Nord) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The position has been held by Dan Vandal since 20 November 2019. In 1953, the role of Minister of Northern Affairs and N ...

on October 24, 1977, with responsibility for

Renewable Resources A renewable resource, also known as a flow resource, is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...

and

Transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

. He was relieved of the latter two responsibilities on October 20, 1978, and was named Minister of Labour and Manpower with responsibility for the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rou ...

. He was dropped as Northern Affairs minister on November 15, 1979, but kept his other responsibilities until the Lyon government was defeated in the election of 1981. MacMaster was himself defeated in the 1981 election, losing to New Democrat

Steve Ashton ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

by 72 votes. He has not sought a return to political life since this time, but is very involved in community activities and projects in the Lac du Bonnet area. MacMaster is also a private consultant, providing services such as mediation, public speaking, and arbitration.

References

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 1934 births Living people Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba {{Manitoba-politician-stub