H. Ralph Maybank (August 17, 1890 – March 19, 1965) was a politician from
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
, Canada. He served in 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 gen ...
from 1932 to 1935, and in the
House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1951. Maybank was a member of the
Liberal Party of Canada.
The son of John Maybank and Marion Bates, Maybank was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. He served in the Royal Flying Corps during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He 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.[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 year ...](_blank)
degree (1919) and a law degree (1922). He was called to the Manitoba bar in 1923. In 1927, Maybank married Dora Boys.
He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the
provincial election of 1927, in the
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, ...
constituency.
At the time, Winnipeg elected ten members via a
single transferable ballot. Maybank, running as a Liberal, finished seventeenth on the first count and was not elected.
From 1929 to 1931, Maybank served as a member of Winnipeg city council.
In 1932, the governing
Progressive Party of Manitoba
The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I.
See also
* List of political parties in Canad ...
formed an electoral alliance with the Liberal Party, and government members subsequently became known as Liberal-Progressives. Maybank again ran in Manitoba, finished tenth on the first count, and narrowly won election for the final seat. On the final count, he defeated
Leslie Morris
Leslie Tom Morris (October 10, 1904 – November 13, 1964) was a Welsh-Canadian politician, journalist and longtime member of the Communist Party of Canada and, its front group, the Labor-Progressive Party. He was leader of the Ontario Labor-P ...
by 309 votes for tenth place. Had Morris been elected, he would have been the first
Communist to serve in a provincial legislature in Canada.
For the next three years, Maybank served as a backbench supporter of
John Bracken
John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...
's government. He resigned his seat on October 1, 1935, to run for the Canadian House of Commons in the
1935 federal election. He elected for 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 ...
, defeated
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 in ...
candidate
William Walker Kennedy and
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...
candidate
Stanley Knowles
Stanley Howard Knowles (June 18, 1908 – June 9, 1997) was a Canadian parliamentarian. Knowles represented the riding of Winnipeg North Centre from 1942 to 1958 on behalf of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and again from 1 ...
. The Liberal Party won this election, and Maybank served as a backbench supporter of
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...
's government.
Maybank defeated Kennedy a second time in the
1940 election, and defeated future
Manitoba Cooperative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Manitoba) (CCF), known informally as the Manitoba CCF, was a provincial branch of the national Canadian party by the same name. The national CCF was the dominant social-democratic party in Canada from th ...
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 3,996 votes in the
1945 election.
On November 30, 1947, he was promoted to
parliamentary assistant
In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...
to the
Minister of National Health and Welfare. On January 25, 1949, he was named assistant to the
Minister of Mines and Resources
The position of Minister of Mines and Resources was a cabinet portfolio in Canada from 1936 to 1950. The mines portfolio had previously been that of the Minister of Mines, which was a portfolio adjunct to other ministries such as Inland Revenue ...
.
Maybank defeated
Progressive Conservative Gordon Churchill
Gordon Minto Churchill, (November 8, 1898 in Coldwater, Ontario – August 3, 1985) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1946 to 1949 as an independent, and in the House of Commons of Canada from ...
in the
1949 federal election.
On January 24, 1951, he was named parliamentary assistant to the
Minister of Resources and Development
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 ...
. He resigned his seat on March 30, 1951.
In the 1940s, Maybank led a revolt of Liberal
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
from western Canada against a proposed rise in the cross-border tariff. They were successful, and the tariff increase was set aside.
In July 1951, he was named to the
Manitoba Court of King's Bench. He died in Winnipeg while still a judge.
There is currently a Ralph Maybank School in Winnipeg,
and the surrounding area is known as Maybank.
Maybank had three sons: John (deceased),
Roger
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
, and Micky (deceased).
Electoral history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maybank, Ralph
1890 births
1965 deaths
Judges in Manitoba
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba
Politicians from London, Ontario
Winnipeg city councillors