Clifford Barclay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clifford Barclay (died 1961) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1922 to 1927, and again from 1932 to 1936.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1922 provincial election, as a candidate of the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM). Campaigning in the electoral district of Springfield, he defeated Liberal candidate William Black by 160 votes. The UFM unexpectedly won a majority of seats in this election, and formed government as the Progressive Party of Manitoba.

Barclay served as a backbench supporter of John Bracken's government for the next five years. He was defeated in the 1927 provincial election, losing to Liberal Murdoch Mackay by eighteen votes.

In 1932, the Progressive and Liberal parties formed an electoral alliance to prevent the Conservatives from coming to power. Candidates supported by the government were called "Liberal-Progressives", and Mackay ran under this banner in Springfield. Despite Barclay's background with the Progressive Party, he ran against Mackay as an independent "Farmer-Labour" candidate, and won election by 652 votes. He was injured in an automobile accident on the night of the vote, but recovered to take his seat in the legislature.

Once elected, Barclay appears to have become a government supporter again. He was offered re-nomination as a Liberal-Progressive in the 1936 election, but declined.