James Wallace McKenzie (June 16, 1914 in Plenty,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

– September 11, 1999) 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 1966 to 1986. McKenzie was the son of homesteaders who had moved to Manitoba from

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 Ca ...

. In the 1930s, he earned extra money by performing in dance bands. He was educated in Saskatchewan and did not attend university, working as a grain buyer after leaving school. In 1939, McKenzie married Hilda Rose Pritchard. McKenzie served in 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 ...

from 1941 to 1945 and returned to his old job following the conclusion of

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 ...

. When his employer was bought out by Pool elevators, he opened a grocery store in

Inglis, Manitoba Inglis is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West, Manitoba, Canada. Located on Provincial Road 366. approximately east of Highway 83 between Russell and Roblin, Inglis is the closest community to the Asessipp ...

which he operated for 30 years. From 1955 to 1963, he was a member of the Inglis town council. He also served as President of the North Central Hockey League in 1965. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1966, in the riding of Roblin, defeating

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

Joseph Perchaluk by just over 200 votes. He did not serve in the

cabinets A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and sat as a backbench MLA on the government side for the next three years. In the provincial election of 1969, McKenzie narrowly defeated fellow incumbent Mike Kawchuk of the NDP in the redistributed riding of Roblin. The NDP under

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 ...

formed government after this election, and McKenzie moved to the opposition benches. He was re-elected by an increased margin in the 1973 election, due in part to the fact that there was no

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 ...

candidate in the race. The Progressive Conservatives returned to power until

Sterling Lyon Sterling Rufus Lyon (January 30, 1927 – December 16, 2010) was a Canadian lawyer, cabinet minister, and the 17th premier of Manitoba from 1977 to 1981. His government introduced several fiscally-conservative measures, and was sometimes seen a ...

in the 1977 election. McKenzie, easily re-elected in his own riding, was named Deputy

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the assembly on November 24, 1977. He did not serve in Lyon's cabinet. McKenzie was re-elected again for the new riding of Roblin-Russell in the 1981 provincial election, which the Tories lost. He retired from politics in 1986. He died in Russell at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Wally 1914 births 1999 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs