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 ...
,
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 ...
– September 1, 1993) 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 ...
in Manitoba,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
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 1966 to 1981, and held a number of high-profile
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
portfolios in the government of
Edward Schreyer
Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation.
Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...
.
Miller was raised in a
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish family in north-end Winnipeg. He was educated at the Peretz School, St. John's High School and 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. He spent time in the armed services and worked for a number of years at a collection agency in eastern Canada. He returned to Winnipeg in the 1940s, and worked at The People's Bookstore, the north end bookstore owned by his family. In the early 1950s, Miller started a small business called Acme Metal Products. He was also involved in
B'nai Brith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...
and the
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...
.
Miller served as a trustee on the Seven Oaks School Board from 1953 to 1958, as an alderman on the
West Kildonan
West Kildonan is a residential suburb within the Old Kildonan and Mynarski city wards of Winnipeg, Manitoba, lying on the west side of the Red River, and immediately north of the old City of Winnipeg in the north-central part of the city.
It ...
city council from 1959 to 1964, and as Mayor of West Kildonan from 1964 to 1966. He was first elected to the provincial legislature in the 1966 election, winning an easy victory in the north-end Winnipeg riding of Seven Oaks.
Miller had long been a personal friend of fellow MLA
Saul Cherniack
Saul Mark Cherniack, (January 10, 1917 – March 30, 2018) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1962 to 1981, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Edward Schreyer. ...
, and soon established himself as one of Cherniack's closest political allies. In 1968-69, Cherniack and Miller played a significant role in convincing federal
Member 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 ...
Edward Schreyer
Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation.
Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...
to replace
Russell Paulley
Andrew Russell Paulley (November 3, 1909 – May 19, 1984) was a Canadian politician. He served as leader of the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1959 to 1961, and its successor, the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, from ...
as leader of the provincial NDP. Both would later become among Schreyer's most trusted confidants.
Miller was easily re-elected in the provincial election of 1969, in which the NDP under Schreyer formed government for the first time. On July 15, 1969, he was named Minister of Youth and Education.
As the former mayor of a suburban community, Miller was one of the few prominent New Democrats in Manitoba to oppose the party's call for a united City of Winnipeg at their 1968 policy convention. He later acquiesced to the plan, and assisted Cherniack in public consultations on the subject throughout 1970.
After a cabinet shuffle on September 9, 1971, Miller was named Minister of Colleges and University Affairs. In the same year, he opposed a controversial government initiative to provide provincial funding to denominational schools. This measure was opposed by many on both the government side and the opposition. When the legislation was defeated in a free vote, Miller and Schreyer made arrangements for specific denominational schools to receive provincial money by working in conjunction with the public system.
Miller was re-elected in the provincial election of 1973, although by a narrower margin than previously; local opposition to amalgamation was undoubtedly a factor. On August 29, 1973, he was named Minister of Urban Affairs. Miller served as Minister of Health and Social Development from January 28 to December 23, 1974, but was transferred back to Urban Affairs thereafter. He also served as Minister responsible for the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation from January 28, 1974 to September 22, 1976.
While retaining the Urban Affairs portfolio, Miller was also promoted to the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Eco ...
on September 22, 1976. In this capacity, he passed legislation allowing for the province to introduce its own treasury banks. This policy was never enacted, however, due in part to Miller's concerns that it would label the NDP government as radically socialist.
Miller helped launch pharmacare and student aid, but often said that his greatest satisfaction was “being in the first NDP cabinet in Manitoba.” In 1977, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.
The NDP were defeated in the provincial election of 1977, and Miller was personally re-elected over Progressive Conservative candidate Carl Zawatsky by only 820 votes. In 1979, he was one of only three MLAs to support Saul Cherniack for interim party leader after Schreyer's resignation. He did not play a major role in the legislature after this time, and did not seek re-election in 1981. Following his political career, he served as Chairman of the Manitoba Telephone System (1981-1985).
Miller died of cancer at Winnipeg on 1 September 1993. He is commemorated by Saul Miller Drive in Winnipeg. There are papers at the Archives of Manitoba.