William Obadiah Baizley (May 25, 1917 – May 3, 2000) was 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 1959 to 1969, 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 governments of

Dufferin Roblin Dufferin "Duff" Roblin, (June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2010) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as the 14th premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre ...

and

Walter Weir Walter Cocksmith Weir (June 7, 1929 – April 17, 1985) was a Canadian politician. Weir served as the 15th premier of Manitoba from 1967 to 1969. The son of James Dixon Weir, he was born in Hugh Bluff, Manitoba and was educated there and i ...

. Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, the son of William Daniel Baizley and Esther May Tanner, Baizley was educated at Glenlawn Collegiate in

St. Vital, Manitoba ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

and the Lincoln

Chiropractic Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudosci ...

College in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He returned to Manitoba in 1937 and worked as a

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...

, also serving as president of the Manitoba Chiropractors' Association before entering political life. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was a member of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. In 1939, he married Jessie Anne MacDonald. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1959 provincial election, unexpectedly defeating CCF leader

Lloyd Stinson Lloyd Cleworth Stinson (February 29, 1904 – August 28, 1976) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada, and the leader of that province's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1953 to 1959. Although widely regarded as a capable leader, he ...

by 326 votes in the south-central Winnipeg 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 ...

. He served as a backbench supporter of Roblin's government for the next four years. Re-elected without difficulty in the 1962 provincial election, Baizley was appointed to cabinet on February 27, 1963 as

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 ...

. He held this position until September 24, 1968, when he was named Minister of Municipal Affairs. He endorsed

to succeed Roblin as Progressive Conservative leader in 1967. Baizley was re-elected easily in the 1966 election, but lost to Ian Turnbull of the

Manitoba New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party of Manitoba (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Manitoba) is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba C ...

by 623 votes in 1969. He did not seek a return to office after this time. During the 1970s, Baizley was chair of the Manitoba Labour Board. He also served as president of Riverview

United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

. He died at the Meadowood Manor Personal Care Home in Winnipeg at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baizley, Obie 1917 births 2000 deaths Canadian chiropractors Labor ministers Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Members of the United Church of Canada Politicians from Montreal Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs