Keith Alan Cosens (July 7, 1932 – April 27, 1990) was a Canadian politician in Manitoba. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 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. Born in

Teulon Teulon is a town located approximately 59 kilometres north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on Provincial Trunk Highway 7. Located between Stonewall and Gimli, Teulon is commonly referred to as "The Gateway to the Interlake". Teulon is surrounde ...

, Manitoba, Cosens was raised on the family farm near Argyle, was educated at

Brant-Argyle School The Brant-Argyle School (formerly Brant Consolidated School #1703) is an educational facility located in the village of Argyle, Manitoba, Argyle, Manitoba, Canada. It was built in 1914 to consolidate the one-room schools in the Brant school#84, B ...

, Stonewall Collegiate and the University of Manitoba, taught school in Kelwood, Wawanesa and Rosser, and was vice-principal of Stonewall Collegiate in Stonewall, Manitoba before entering politics. In 1952, he married Marie Smith. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1977 election, defeating New Democrat

George Schreyer George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

by 720 votes in the riding of Gimli. On October 24, 1977, he was named Minister of Education and Minister of Continuing Education and Manpower in Lyon's government. He was dropped from the latter position on April 1, 1978, but retained the former throughout Lyon's tenure as

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 the provincial election of 1981, he lost to NDP candidate John Bucklaschuk by 730 votes. He did not seek a return to politics after this time. Cosens served as president of the Interlake Teachers’ Association and on the provincial executive of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society. After leaving politics, he was president of Northern Goose Processors in Teulon. He also served as executive director of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba. He died of cancer in Winnipeg at the age of 57. A street in Stonewall, Manitoba has been named after him. The certificate Keith was given in 1977 to mark his position with the Manitoba Legislative Assembly as Minister of Education is on display in his hometown, Argyle, Manitoba at

Settlers, Rails & Trails Settlers, Rails & Trails Inc. is a community-run, non-profit museum located in Argyle, Manitoba. It exhibits local history, railway and agricultural artifacts and historical information, and it is also home to the Canadian Flag Collection. Argyle ...

. He is noted as an important alumnus of the

at the museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosens, Keith Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 1932 births 1990 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba