Gwen Charles

Gwen Charles (born July 19, 1949 in Lindsay, Ontario[1]) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1990, representing the riding of Selkirk for the Manitoba Liberal Party.[2]

The daughter of Allan Glover, she began her career at the municipal level, serving as a councillor in the town of Selkirk. She married Garry James Gordon Charles in 1969.[1] Charles first ran for provincial office in the election of 1986, finishing third in the Selkirk riding with 1023 votes. At the time, the riding's MLA was New Democrat Howard Pawley, the provincial Premier.[3]

In early 1988, Pawley's government was unexpectedly defeated when disgruntled backbencher Jim Walding voted against his party's annual budget in an evenly divided legislature. Pawley stepped down as premier and did not run in the election which followed.[4] With the riding open, Charles was able to defeat NDP candidate Terry Sargeant by just 184 votes.[3]

The Liberals increased their parliamentary representation from one to twenty in this election, and Charles spent the next two years in the official opposition. In 1990, she supported Paul Martin for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Like many of her Liberal colleagues, she was defeated in the 1990 election[2] amid a general decline in support for her party (once again, she placed third behind the NDP and Progressive Conservative candidates).[3]

Elections
1986 Manitoba general election: Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticHoward Pawley5,13554.93-9.17
Progressive ConservativeEugene Kinaschuk3,11933.36-1.05
LiberalGwen Charles1,02310.94n/a
ProgressiveRaye Porhownik720.77-0.72
Turnout 9,36874.93-0.10
New Democratic hold Swing -4.06
Source: Elections Manitoba[5]
1988 Manitoba general election: Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalGwen Charles3,82135.35+24.41
New DemocraticTerry Sargeant3,63733.64-21.29
Progressive ConservativeEugene Kinaschuk3,13829.03-4.33
Western IndependenceRuth Van Koeveringe2141.98n/a
Turnout 10,82080.46+5.53
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +22.85
Source: Elections Manitoba[6]
1990 Manitoba general election: Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticGreg Dewar3,73536.58+2.94
Progressive ConservativeRuss Farrell3,46733.95+4.92
LiberalGwen Charles3,00929.47-5.88
Turnout 10,24274.44-6.02
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +4.41
Source: Elections Manitoba[7]
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References
  1. Normandin, Pierre G (1989). Canadian Parliamentary Guide.
  2. "MLA Biographies - Living". The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  3. "Selkirk". Manitoba. CBC News.
  4. "By One Vote: The Defeat of the Manitoba Government". Canadian Parliamentary Review. 12 (1). 1989. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
  5. "Historical Summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  6. "Candidates: 34th General Election" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. April 26, 1988. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. "Historical Summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-11-30.
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