Leader of the Opposition (Manitoba)

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A list of parliamentary opposition leaders in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Canada, from 1870 to the present.

William Alexander Macdonald was the first officially recognized Leader of the Opposition in Manitoba although Rodmond Roblin is considered to have been the de facto opposition leader from 1890 until he lost his seat in the 1892 provincial election.

Note: This list is incomplete; there are gaps between some leaders.

# Leader Party Took office Left office
     William Alexander Macdonald [1] Conservative 1892 1893
     John Andrew Davidson [2] Conservative 1893 1894
     James Fisher[3] Independent 1894 1896
     Rodmond Palen Roblin [4] Conservative 1896 1900
     Thomas Greenway Liberal 1900 1904
     Charles Mickle[5] Liberal 1904 1906
     Charles Mickle Liberal 1908 1909
     Tobias C. Norris Liberal 1910 1915
     Albert Prefontaine Conservative 1916 1919
     William Robson[6] Independent-Farmers 1920 1922
     Tobias C. Norris Liberal 1922 1927
     Fawcett G. Taylor Conservative 1927 1933
     William Sanford Evans Conservative 1933 1936
     Errick Willis Conservative 1936 1940
     Lewis St. George Stubbs[7] Independent 1940 1941
     Huntly Ketchen Anti-Coalition Conservative 1941 1943
     Seymour J. Farmer CCF 1943 1947
     Edwin Hansford CCF 1948 1950
     Errick Willis Progressive Conservative 1950 1954
     Dufferin Roblin Progressive Conservative 1954 1958
     Douglas Lloyd Campbell Liberal 1958 1961
     Gildas Molgat Liberal 1961 1969
     Walter Weir Progressive Conservative 1969 1970
     Sidney Spivak Progressive Conservative 1970 1975
     Sterling Lyon Progressive Conservative 1975 1977
     Edward Schreyer NDP 1977 1979
     Howard Pawley NDP 1979 1981
     Sterling Lyon Progressive Conservative 1981 1983
     Gary Filmon Progressive Conservative 1983 1988
     Sharon Carstairs Liberal 1988 1990
     Gary Doer NDP 1990 1999
     Gary Filmon Progressive Conservative 1999 2000
     Bonnie Mitchelson Progressive Conservative 2000 2000
     Stuart Murray Progressive Conservative 2000 2006
     Hugh McFadyen Progressive Conservative 2006  
  1. ^ W.A. Macdonald was the first officially recognized leader of the opposition and held the post until his election to the legislature was voided in 1893.
  2. ^ Davidson was the second officially recognized leader of the opposition and held the post until his election to the legislature was voided in 1894.
  3. ^ It is unclear whether Fisher was de facto or de jure Opposition leader. It is also unclear whether he joined the Conservative Party at some point.
  4. ^ Hugh John Macdonald was the party's official leader from 1897 but did not have a seat in the legislature so Roblin remained official opposition leader.
  5. ^ Edward Brown was the Liberal Party's leader from 1906 to 1908 but did not have a seat in the legislature. It is unclear whether Mickle remained Official Opposition leader during this period, whether the position was assigned to another MLA, or whether it became vacant.
  6. ^ Robson was chosen as leader of the Independent-Farmers bloc in the legislature which was the largest grouping on the opposition benches following the 1920 provincial election. It is unclear whether he was officially given the title of Leader of the Opposition.
  7. ^ Stubbs was the only sitting opposition MLA for a period in 1940 after all the remaining opposition parties joined John Bracken's wartime coalition government. It's unclear whether he was given the title of Leader of the Official Opposition or whether he retained such a title after Social Credit MLA Salome Halldorson and Conservatives John Poole and Huntly Ketchen left the governing coalition to sit on the opposition bench prior to the 1941 general election.