Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th-century, in the period following the province's creation in 1870.

The party under Thomas Greenway (1883-1904)

Also in 1882, Thomas Greenway formed a new organization known as the Provincial Rights Party. Based in the province's rural areas, this group soon surpassed the Winnipeg Liberals as the dominant opposition to Norquay. After the election of 1883, Greenway united the opposition MLAs into the Manitoba Liberals (which were soon recognized as a de-facto political party). For the next 21 years, Greenway's control over the party would be unchallenged.

Related Topics:
Thomas Greenway - Provincial Rights Party - 1883

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Greenway's Liberals took power in 1888 and ended the Canadian Pacific Railway's monopoly in the province. The Greenway government's most notable feat in office was curtailing the rights of Manitoba's French Canadians population. Manitoba had been founded as a bilingual province, but Greenway's government provoked the Manitoba Schools Question, ending the educational rights of (predominantly French) Catholics, and making the public school system entirely English and Protestant. English became the province's sole official language.

Related Topics:
1888 - Canadian Pacific Railway - French Canadian - Manitoba Schools Question

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Greenway was able to win large majorities in 1892 and 1896, based largely on single-issue populism relating to the schools question. After this was resolved in 1897, his government became increasingly directionless. The Liberals were defeated by the Manitoba Conservative Party in 1899.

Related Topics:
1892 - 1896 - 1897 - Manitoba Conservative Party - 1899

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The Liberals were unable to regain their previous support base in the decade that followed. Greenway continued to lead the party through a disastrous 1903 campaign, winning only 9 seats. He resigned in 1904 to run for federal office.

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