William Henry Sims (January 6, 1872—1955) 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 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 ...

. He 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 ...

from 1914 to 1920 as a member of the Liberal Party.

Biography

Sims was born in Fergus,

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 ...

, the son of William A. Sims and Clara Last, and was educated at Brant School near Stonewall and in

Winnipeg, Manitoba 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 ...

. He received a Teachers' Certificate, and also worked as a farmer. He came to the Swan River valley during the early 1900s. Sims served as a councillor in the Rural Municipality of Swan River from 1907 to 1913, and was the community's

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

in 1914. He was also president of the local Agricultural Society for many years. Sims was married twice: first to Catherine Emily Marsh and then, in 1909, to Christina S. M. Mounsey. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1914 provincial election, defeating Conservative candidate W.J. Stewart by thirty-three votes in the constituency of Swan River. The Conservatives won this election, and Sims served with his party in opposition. The Conservative administration was forced to resign in 1915 as the result of a corruption scandal, and the Liberals were called to form government. A new election was called, which the Liberals won in a landslide. Sims was re-elected by an increased majority, and served as a backbench supporter of

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Tobias Norris Tobias Crawford Norris (September 5, 1861 – October 29, 1936) was a Canadian politician who served as the tenth premier of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922. Norris was a member of the Liberal Party.J. M. Bumsted"Tobias Crawford Norris" ''The Cana ...

's government for the next five years. He was defeated in the 1920 provincial election, losing to

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

candidate

Robert Emmond Robert William Emmond (November 25, 1869, – August 26, 1935) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1927. He was born in Bruce County, Ontario and came to Manitoba with his pa ...

by 619 votes. He sought to return to the legislature in the 1927 election, but finished third against

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

candidate

Andrew McCleary Andrew McCleary (1863 – 1944) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1927 to 1932, as a member of the Progressive Party. Born in Shelburne, Canada West, McCleary came to Minitonas, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, William 1872 births 1955 deaths Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs People from Swan River, Manitoba Mayors of places in Manitoba