Robert George "Bob" Wilson (born November 2, 1934) is a former politician in

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 ...

. He represented Wolseley 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 gener ...

from 1975 to 1981 as a Progressive Conservative and then independent member. He was first elected to the assembly in a 1975 by-election held on June 25, 1975 after

Izzy Asper Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper (August 11, 1932– October 7, 2003) was a Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate. He was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and ...

resigned his seat. Wilson was reelected in the 1977 general election, defeating

Murdoch Mackay Murdoch Mackay (April 30, 1884 – 1963) was a Manitoba politician. He led the Manitoba Liberal Party from 1931 to 1932, and brought the party into an alliance with John Bracken's Progressives. Mackay was born on Boularderie Island, Nova Scotia, ...

by 75 votes. In September 1979, he was charged with conspiracy to import and traffic in

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

as the result of drug seizures in May and July of that year. Wilson was expelled from the Progressive Conservative caucus on November 20, 1980 and subsequently sat as an independent member. He was convicted on November 7, 1980 and sentenced to 7 years in prison. His appeal to the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

was denied on June 15, 1981 and his seat in the assembly was declared vacant on June 17, 1981. In March 2011, Ian Jackson MacDonald, who had escaped police custody in June 1980, was returned to Canada by U.S. authorities. At that time, Wilson expressed hope that information from MacDonald would exonerate him of the earlier charges. In 2014 Macdonald died but his testimony had failed to clear Wilson's name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Robert Living people Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 1934 births Winnipeg city councillors