Albert Wren (December 9, 1916 – November 1, 1961) was a politician in

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 C ...

, Canada. He was a Liberal-Labour member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1951 to 1961 for the northwestern Ontario riding of

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The hi ...

Background

He was born in

Fort William, Ontario Fort William was a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Since th ...

, but his family soon moved to the town of Ignace, a small railway community. He 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 environ ...

and served overseas as an officer during

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war he worked as the town clerk in

Sioux Lookout Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetla ...

until he was elected as an MPP. He and his wife Mary raised two daughters.

Politics

Wren ran as a Liberal-Labour candidate in 1948 provincial election but was defeated by the Progressive Conservative candidate James George White by 957 votes. He ran again in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, this time defeating his PC opponent by 88 votes. Wren sat with the

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 ...

caucus and ran twice in Ontario Liberal Party leadership conventions. He placed second in 1954 with 162 votes when he lost to

Farquhar Oliver Farquhar Robert Oliver (March 6, 1904 – January 22, 1989) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. Oliver was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a United Farmers of Ontario Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 1926 provi ...

(a former

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an Agrarianism, agrarian and Populism, populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers (disambiguation), United Farmers movement of the earl ...

MPP). In 1957, Wren and fellow MPP

Arthur Reaume Arthur John Reaume (November 30, 1906 – December 13, 1981) was a Canadian politician. Background Reaume was born at Sandwich, Ontario in 1906. Politics He was elected to the town council of Sandwich in 1930 and became mayor of Sandwich in 19 ...

were expelled from the Liberal caucus for attacking Oliver's leadership and demanding a new leadership convention. Oliver subsequently resigned and a new leadership vote was held in 1958. Wren ran, placing last with only seven votes on the first ballot and then threw his support to

John Wintermeyer John Joseph Wintermeyer (December 4, 1916 – December 20, 1993) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1955 to 1963 who represented the riding of Waterloo North. From 1958 ...

who ultimately came from behind to win the convention. Wren served as his party's Labour Critic. He died in office in 1961.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wren, Albert 1916 births 1961 deaths Liberal-Labour Ontario MPPs People from Kenora