Douglas Lloyd Campbell

On December 21, 1936, Campbell was sworn in as Minister of Agriculture in John Bracken's government. He also became Minister of the Manitoba Power Commission on February 5, 1944.[1] In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing a rural electrification program, which created the framework for Manitoba Hydro.

Bracken's government was expanded into an all-party coalition in 1940, with the Conservatives, Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and Social Credit all holding cabinet positions. Campbell faced no opposition in the election of 1941, and also won by acclamation in 1945 and 1949.[1]

John Bracken jumped from provincial to federal politics in 1943, and his successor Stuart Garson did the same in 1948. On the latter occasion, Campbell defeated Conservative leader Errick Willis in a vote of the coalition caucuses to become the province's next Premier. He was sworn in on November 13, 1948, only the second native-born Manitoban to serve in this office. On December 14 of the same year, he also became Minister of Dominion-Provincial Relations. The selection of Campbell was opposed by many Conservatives, some of whom called for a new coalition agreement.

Campbell's government continued the rural electrification program begun by Garson. However, it was otherwise cautious and conservative, opposing government expansion and bilingualism. Campbell commissioned a study on alcohol sales (written by former Premier Bracken) that brought about some reforms; nevertheless, the province maintained a number of restrictive "blue laws" on alcohol and Sunday shopping. Manitoba's education system remained backwards, having the most one room schoolhouses in Canada.[3] Despite the Liberal label, Campbell's government was one of the most right-wing provincial governments in Canada.

The coalition government ended in 1950, with the Progressive Conservatives (which the Conservatives became after 1942) leaving in protest against Campbell's 'minimal-government' philosophy. The Tories were still led by Errick Willis, although the impetus for separation had come primarily from MLA Dufferin Roblin.

The Manitoba Tories had more or less vanished at the grassroots level during the coalition government, and in the 1953 election, Campbell's Liberal-Progressives won a convincing victory (32 of 57 seats). After the election, Roblin replaced Willis as leader of the Progressive Conservatives and developed a platform of infrastructural development and modernization. Campbell's opposition to any sort of state intervention essentially put him further to the right of the Tory opposition by this time.

Campbell often had poor relations with the federal Liberals in the late 1950s, despite the fact that Garson was a powerful cabinet minister for the party. John Diefenbaker's upset victory of 1957 was partly based on unexpected support from Manitoba—Campbell later claimed that he contributed to the federal Liberal defeat.

The provincial election of 1958 resulted in a hung parliament, with the Tories winning 26 seats against 19 for the Liberal-Progressives, and 11 for the CCF, and one Independent. Campbell initially offered to govern in alliance with the CCF, but discussions between the parties went nowhere. When it became apparent that the CCF was instead willing to support the Tories, Campbell resigned as Premier on June 30. The next year, Roblin's Tories won a parliamentary majority and Campbell's Liberal-Progressives were reduced to 11 seats.

Campbell remained as Leader of the Opposition until 1961, when he resigned as leader of what was by now known as the Manitoba Liberal Party; Gildas Molgat succeeded him. He continued to serve as MLA for Lakeside until standing down in 1969, and exercised a powerful influence over the Liberals during this time. His 47 continuous years in the legislature (including 25 years as a minister or opposition frontbencher) remains a provincial record.[3]