William "Scottie" Bryce (September 7, 1888 – June 17, 1963) was a 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 ...

, Canada. He briefly served as leader of the

Manitoba Co-operative 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 ...

(CCF), although he never 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 gener ...

Biography

Bryce, born in

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, was educated at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and apprenticed as a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

. He arrived in Canada in 1919 and farmed in Dugald, Manitoba. From 1941 to 1943, he served as president of the Manitoba Farmers Association. He was also a member of the National War Services Board (1942–43) and the Advisory Board of Dominion Beef Committee. Bryce was first elected to 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 ...

in a 1943

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 ...

, during a period of increased popularity for the federal CCF. Running in the riding of Selkirk, Bryce defeated his Liberal opponent Charles Fillmore by about 5500 votes. He was re-elected by narrower margins in the general elections of

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

and

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. He was a leading advocate for farmer's concerns during his time in parliament, and generally avoided ideological debates. Bryce's tenure as provincial CCF leader was an anomaly in the party's history. He was chosen leader in 1952 due to concerns that his federal riding would be eliminated by redistribution. As it happened, Bryce decided to stay in federal politics and

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 ...

was chosen provincial leader in 1953. Bryce does not appear to have played a significant role in the operations of the provincial party. Bryce was defeated by Liberal

Robert Wood Robert Wood may refer to: Art * Robert E. Wood (painter, born 1971), Canadian landscape artist * Robert William Wood (1889–1979), American landscape artist * Robert Wood (artist), accused and acquitted of the Camden Town murder Military * R ...

in the federal election of 1953, but won a by-election after Wood's death the following year. He was re-elected in the 1957 election, but fell to Progressive Conservative

Eric Stefanson Eric Stefanson (born October 14, 1950) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the cabinet of Progressive Conservative Premier Gary Filmon from 1991 to 1999, and was a member of the Manitoba Legislature from 1990 to 2000. His father, ...

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 ...

's landslide victory of

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. In the 1959 provincial election, Bryce ran for the CCF in the riding of Selkirk but placed third, receiving only 872 votes out of about 4400 cast. He retired from politics after this. Bryce died at his

Selkirk, Manitoba Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the Red River about northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg. It has a population of 10,504 as of the 2021 census. The mainstays of the local economy are tourism, ...

home in 1963."Obituaries.", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', Wednesday, June 19, 1963, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryce, William 1888 births Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Canadian socialists Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs 20th-century Canadian legislators Manitoba CCF/NDP leaders 1963 deaths British emigrants to Canada