William Gilbert Weir (July 1, 1896 – December 12, 1971) was a Canadian politician and was the longest serving

Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no Liberal-Progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existe ...

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 ...

in Canadian history sitting 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 ...

for 27 years. Born in

Port Perry Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto and north of Oshawa and Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,453 as of 2016. Port Perry serves as the administrative and commerc ...

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 ...

, Weir was a farmer by occupation. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of Macdonald,

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 ...

defeating his sole rival by 499 votes,

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 ...

candidate John Woods, in the 1930 federal election. He was re-elected in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

against a wide field including a straight

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, Anthony Messner, in what would be his only election facing a Liberal candidate. Subsequently, the Liberals did not oppose him.' In

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 ...

, Weir moved to the new riding of

Portage—Neepawa Portage—Neepawa was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 1968. This riding was created in 1947 from parts of Macdonald, Neepawa and Portage la Prairie ridings. ...

and would continue to win re-election until his defeat in the 1957 general election, the first in which he shed the Liberal-Progressive label and ran as a straight Liberal. Though retaining the Liberal-Progressive designation, Weir supported the Liberal government when it came to power in 1935 and subsequently sat with the Liberal Party

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

. He served as

Chief Government Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

from 1945 to 1957 as well as

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 ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Louis St. Laurent from 1953 to 1957.

References

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William Gilbert Weir (1896-1971)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, William Gilbert Liberal-Progressive MPs 1896 births 1971 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba People from Scugog