William James Westwood (August 19, 1887—March 7, 1962) 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 1917 to 1920, and again from 1932 to 1936. Westwood was born in Pendinnis, Manitoba, the son of Fred T. Westwood and Sarah Jane Gregory, and was educated at

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and

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 ...

Baptist College. He worked as a notary public and municipal clerk, and served as secretary of the Roblin Pool Elevator Association. He worked with the Union Bank of Canada in Roblin from December 1906 to November 1917. In 1912, Westwood married Carrie Marie Hartford. From 1920 to 1946, he was secretary-treasurer for the

Rural Municipality of Shell River The Rural Municipality of Shell River was a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was incorporated as a rural municipality on December 22, 1883. On January 1, 2015 it was amalgamated as a result a provincial government ma ...

. Westwood was mayor of Roblin from 1944 to 1946. In 1945, he moved to Russell, where he purchased a hardware store which he operated with his sons until 1960. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a

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 ...

held in the Roblin constituency on November 19, 1917. He served as an independent member of the legislature, and did not seek re-election in the provincial election of 1920. Westwood was elected to the legislature for a second time in the 1932 election, again in the division of Roblin. He still identified himself as an independent, but was now supported by the governing

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alliance led by

John Bracken John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...

. He defeated

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

incumbent Frederic Y. Newton by 609 votes, and served as a pro-government independent. He was defeated in the 1936 election, losing to S. E. Rogers of the newly formed Social Credit League. He died in Russell at the age of 74. Westwood's son, Fred Westwood, was a candidate for the

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'' ...

in the 1965 federal election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westwood, William 1887 births 1962 deaths Independent MLAs in Manitoba Mayors of places in Manitoba People from Roblin, Manitoba