Michael Frederick Carrington Radcliffe (born December 16, 1944) is a lawyer and former

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 served as 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 1995 to 1999, 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

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 ...

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is Canadian politician from Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the 19th premier of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999. Political care ...

from 1997 to 1999. The son of Leslie Radcliffe and Edith Bole, he was born 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 ...

, and holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree and an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

but is now the Grand Knight for the St. Ignatius Church council (#5808) of the Knights of Columbus. In 1974, he married Linda Anne Leach. In 1912, Radcliffe's father was planning to travel on what turned out to be the final voyage of the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

with his uncle Charles Sedgwick and aunt Adelaide, who were on their way to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. In the end, because of concerns about safety related to the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

, the uncle made the voyage alone; his body was never found. In the Canadian general election of 1993, Radcliffe ran as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party in the riding of

Winnipeg South Centre Winnipeg South Centre (french: Winnipeg-Centre-Sud) is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1979 and since 1988. Geography The district includes the neighbou ...

. The riding was held by

Lloyd Axworthy Lloyd Norman Axworthy (born December 21, 1939) is a Canadian politician, elder statesman and academic. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Following his retirement from parliament ...

MP at the time, and was considered as safe for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

; Radcliffe came in third with only 3,878 votes, against Axworthy's 25,667. In the provincial election of 1995, Radcliffe ran as a Progressive Conservative in the upscale west-end Winnipeg riding of River Heights. He was successful on this occasion, 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 ...

Anita Neville Anita Ruth Neville (born July 22, 1942) is a Canadian politician, who has served as the 26th lieutenant governor of Manitoba since 2022. She was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal in the general election of 2000. She was r ...

(later the MP for Winnipeg South Centre from 2000 to 2011) by 994 votes. Radcliffe was appointed to cabinet on January 6, 1997, serving as

Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs The Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs was a Government of Canada cabinet position held between 1967 and 1995. The minister was responsible for consumer and corporate issues relating to legislation at the federal level. The minister was al ...

with responsibility for the Gaming Control Act. On February 5, 1999, he became the province's

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, with responsibility for the Civil Service Act, the Civil Service Superannuation Act, the Civil Service Special Supplementary Severance Benefits Act (1983), the Public Servants Insurance Act and the Workers Compensation Act. The Progressive Conservatives were defeated by the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

under

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 19 October 2009, to 3 March 2016. Doer previously served as the 20th p ...

in the provincial election of 1999. The NDP does not have a strong base in River Heights, and Radcliffe would probably not have had difficulty being re-elected under normal circumstances. It was to his misfortune, however, that provincial Liberal leader

Jon Gerrard Jon Gerrard (born October 13, 1947) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1993 to 1997, and was a secretary of state in the government of Jean Chrétien. He was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party f ...

decided to contest the riding. Although the Liberals as a whole ran a poor provincial campaign and lost 10% from their 1995 support level, Gerrard was personally popular enough that he could defeat Radcliffe by 465 votes. Radcliffe attempted to defeat Gerrard in a rematch in the 2003 provincial election but lost by almost 2,000 votes. In 2004, Radcliffe was the official campaign agent for Raj Joshi,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate in Winnipeg South Centre.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radcliffe, Mike Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 1944 births Living people Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba