Walter Gilbert Dinsdale, PC, DFC (April 3, 1916 – November 20, 1982) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, known for his works with people with disabilities, who served as a Progressive Conservative

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 ...

from 1951 until his death.

Early life

Born in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

, to Minnie (née Lang) and

George Dinsdale George Dinsdale (August 14, 1887 in Leven, East Riding of Yorkshire, England – September 21, 1943) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a Conservative representative in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1932 until his deat ...

,"Memorable Manitobans: Walter Gilbert Dinsdale (1916-1982)"

Manitoba Historical Society The Manitoba Historical Society is a historical society in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It was created in 1879 by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, and describes itself as "the oldest organization in western Canada devoted to the ...

, March 3, 2012. he graduated from

Brandon College Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon C ...

and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937 from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

. He received a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1951.

Career

Prior to entering politics, Dinsdale was a social worker with the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, and from 1946 to 1951 served as the director of adult education and assistant professor of social services at Brandon College. Dinsdale enlisted 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 ...

on 21 November 1941, to fight in the

Second World War 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 trained at

CFB Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, CF ...

in Belleville and at No. 2 Service Flying Training School in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, graduating in 1942. He arrived in Europe on 29 December 1942 and ended his military career in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during World War II for his service as a

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

night-fighter pilot with the

, having destroyed four enemy aircraft, including the first

Mistel ''Mistel'' (German for "mistletoe", a parasitic plant) was the larger, unmanned component of a composite aircraft configuration developed in Germany during the later stages of World War II. The composite comprised a small piloted control aircr ...

composite "piggyback" aircraft. He also downed

V-1 flying bombs The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany as ...

, using the wing-tip of the

to knock them off-course.

Political career

Dinsdale was a Progressive Conservative

(MP) from 1951 until his death in 1982, being first elected in a 1951

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

with an upset victory to take a seat previously held by the Liberals. Dinsdale was originally hesitant about running in the by-election, and was fired by Brandon College soon after his nomination. Dinsdale won 56.9% of the vote in that by-election. During his tenure in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

, he represented the riding of

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name * Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

for one year in 1951 until it was merged with the neighbouring riding of Souris to form

Brandon—Souris Brandon—Souris is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. Demographics :''According to the Canada 2011 Census'' Ethnic groups: 83.4% White, 9.8% Aboriginal, ...

. He held Brandon-Souris from 1952 until his death in 1982, winning 11 consecutive election victories. At the time of his death he was the

Dean of the House The dean of the House is, in some legislatures, the member with the longest unbroken record of service. U.C. Mandal, ''Dictionary Of Public Administration'' (2007), p. 123. Specific examples include: * Dean of the United States House of Representat ...

- the longest-serving

."Colleagues mourn dean of Commons". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', November 23, 1982. During his period as MP, he was the

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 U ...

to the Minister of Veterans Affairs in 1957, and parliamentary secretary to the same minister in 1960. He then joined the

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 ...

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

as Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources from 1960 to 1963. He was also acting

Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys The Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys was a position in the Canadian Cabinet from 1950 to 1966. The former offices of Minister of Mines and Resources and Minister of Reconstruction and Supply were abolished by Statute 13 Geo. VI, c. 18, and t ...

for a few months in 1961. In 1963, while serving as Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources he chaired the "Resources for Tomorrow" conference, which led to the establishment of a

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. Dinsdale worked tirelessly for many causes, including

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

, international human rights, immigrant Canadians and most notably disabled persons. He was vice-chair of the Special Committee on the Disabled, whose work led to many improvements in services for disabled Canadians, and worked with many international governments and organizations to improve the lives of the disabled everywhere, and in 1981 was Canada's delegate to the United Nations for the

International Year of Disabled Persons The year 1981 was proclaimed the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP) by the United Nations. It called for a plan of action with an emphasis on equalization of opportunities, rehabilitation and prevention of disabilities. The slogan of I ...

Honours

The Walter Dinsdale Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in developing technologies that improve the lives of the disabled, is named in his honour. Dinsdale was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree by Brandon University and a Doctor of Humanities degree from Richmond College in Toronto for his works with disabled people.

Death

He died from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in 1982, after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

about two months before his death. He is buried in Brandon. Following his death, he was eulogized in the House of Commons of Canada, following which the house was adjourned for the day in tribute.

Family

Walter married Lenore Gusdal, and had 5 children: Gunnar, Greg, Elizabeth, Eric and Rolf. His son Rolf ran as a

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

candidate in a federal by-election in Brandon—Souris in 2013, losing narrowly to

Larry Maguire Larry Maguire (born June 1, 1949) is a politician and activist farmer in Manitoba, Canada. Formerly a Progressive Conservative MLA in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on No ...

Electoral record

''Note: This list is incomplete.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinsdale, Walter 1916 births 1982 deaths Brandon University alumni McMaster University alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Brandon, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs University of Toronto alumni