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 ...
in 1979, and subsequently served in the cabinet of NDP
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 ...
Howard Pawley
Howard Russell Pawley (November 21, 1934 – December 30, 2015) was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988. Prior to his premiership, Pawley served in various ministerial positions after his t ...
.
Smith was born as Muriel Ann Lipsey, the daughter of George Cherry Lipsey and Mary MacDonald, at
Britannia Beach, British Columbia
Britannia Beach ( Sḵwx̱wú7mesh: Shisháyu7áy, ) is a small unincorporated community in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District located approximately 55 kilometres north of Vancouver, British Columbia on the Sea-to-Sky Highway on Howe Sound. ...
, and was educated at 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.Oxford Institute of Education, in
Oxford, England
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
. In 1952, she married Gordon Murray Rhodes Smith, son of former Manitoba Liberal politician Charles Rhodes Smith.
She worked as a counsellor, served on the Human Rights Commission of Manitoba from 1974-78 and the Manitoba Action Centre on the Status of Women from 1975-76. She was also President of the Manitoba NDP from 1975-77.
She first ran for the provincial legislature in the 1973 provincial election, in the upscale
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 ...
Sidney Spivak
Sidney Joel Spivak, (May 23, 1928 – July 8, 2002) was a Manitoba politician. He was a Cabinet minister in the governments of Dufferin Roblin, Walter Weir and Sterling Lyon, and was himself leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ma ...
winning the riding and future
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 ...
leader
Charles Huband Charles Huband is a Manitoba politician, who subsequently became a judge. He was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party between 1975 and 1978.
Huband attended the University of Manitoba in the 1950s, earning his Bachelor of Laws degree from the ...
finishing second. Smith ran in
Crescentwood
Crescentwood is a former electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created in 1969, abolished in 1979, re-established in 1989, and abolished again in 1999.
The Crescentwood riding was located in Winnipeg's south-central re ...
Warren Steen
Warren Steen (July 22, 1940 in Winnipeg, Manitoba – August 19, 2009) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1975 to 1986, as a Progressive Conservative.
Biography
The s ...
by 72 votes.
Smith was a representative of the NDP's left wing in the 1979 leadership race. Her supporters included supporters of "
the Waffle
The Waffle (also known as the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada) was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little elec ...
" (a left-leaning group within the NDP) and many leading members of Manitoba's feminist community. Smith's campaign suffered a serious setback when she failed to receive the NDP nomination for a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in the riding of Fort Rouge. Notwithstanding, she finished a credible second place at the convention, losing to
Howard Pawley
Howard Russell Pawley (November 21, 1934 – December 30, 2015) was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988. Prior to his premiership, Pawley served in various ministerial positions after his t ...
.
She was elected to the
Manitoba legislature
The Legislature of Manitoba is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the King of Canada in Right of Manitoba, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and the unicameral ...
for the first time in the 1981 election, representing the riding of
Osborne
Osborne may refer to:
* Osborne (name)
Places Australia
* Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area
* Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region
Can ...
. She joined cabinet on November 30, 1981, serving as
Deputy Premier
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. Muriel Smith was the first woman in Canada to serve as a deputy premier. On August 20, 1982, she was also entrusted with administration of the
Development Corporation Act
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
* Photograph ...
Community Services
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...
. On January 30, 1985, she was also appointed Minister responsible for the Status of Women, holding this position until April 17, 1986. She was again moved on September 21, 1987, serving as Minister of Labour and Housing while again receiving cabinet responsibilities for the Status of Women (replacing
Judy Wasylycia-Leis
Klazina Judith Wasylycia-Leis (; born 1951) is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from September 22, 1997, to April ...
, who had held the portfolio in the interim). Smith remained in cabinet until the Pawley government was defeated in 1988.
She was easily re-elected in the 1986 election, but lost to future federal
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’, â ...
Reg Alcock
Reginald B. Alcock, (April 16, 1948 – October 14, 2011) was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Winnipeg South in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister ...
in 1988. She has not returned to active political life since this time. Smith later became Vice President of the
United Nations Association in Canada The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) is an historic, national charitable organization providing the leading policy voice on multilateralism in Canada. Established in 1946, UNA-Canada was a founding member of the World Federation of ...
, and has taught part-time in affirmative action social work. She was a member of the Advisory Council of the
Order of Manitoba
The Order of Manitoba (french: Ordre du Manitoba) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter Liba granted Royal Assent to The Order of Manitoba Act, the order is administe ...
. In 2003, she supported
Bill Blaikie
William Alexander Blaikie (June 19, 1951 – September 24, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings i ...
Smith became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2007 That same year she also was a recipient of the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Person's Case.