Leonard Evans

The son of David Evans and Gwen Salusbury, he was born in Winnipeg and educated at Transcona Collegiate Institute, the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, Simon Fraser University and the University of Ottawa. He worked as an economist[2] and a professor of economics before entering political life. Evans first ran for public office in the Canadian federal election of 1953, running as a Cooperative Commonwealth Federation candidate in the riding of St. Boniface. He finished second with 5568 votes, a credible showing for the party in the region.[3]

In 1953, he married Alice Lorrain Mazinke.[2]

Evans was elected to the Manitoba legislature as a New Democrat in the provincial election of 1969. This election was a watershed moment in Manitoba politics, as the NDP emerged as the largest party with 28 seats and formed government after gaining the support of Liberal MLA Laurent Desjardins. Evans was elected in the riding of Brandon East, in the province's southwestern corner.[4]

Evans was named Minister of Mines and Natural Resources on July 15, 1969. On December 18 of the same year, he was promoted to Minister of Industry and Commerce, a position which he held until the defeat of the NDP government in 1977. He was also given ministerial responsibility for the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation on September 22, 1976.[1] Evans oversaw the Manitoba Development Corporation in his ministerial role and used his position to promote public management within certain industries. Additionally, he co-founded WESTAC to strengthen public-private relations in the transportation industry.

Evans was easily re-elected in the 1973 provincial election.[1] He faced a more serious challenge from Progressive Conservative James Thornborough in the 1977 election but still won by over 1000 votes. The Tories won the 1977 election, and Evans served as opposition critic for Economic Development over the next four years.

The NDP were returned to government in 1981, and Evans was appointed as Minister of Community Service and Correction and Minister of Natural Resources on November 30, 1981, also receiving responsibility for the Manitoba Telephone System. He was relieved of the latter two positions on August 20, 1982, and on November 4, 1983, was transferred to the Ministry of Employment Services and Economic Security, where he would remain until the fall of the NDP government in 1988. He was also given responsibility for the A.E. McKenzie Co. Ltd from June 29, 1983, to January 4, 1984, was Minister of Natural Resources again from January 3, 1986, to April 17, 1988, and held responsibility for Manitoba Data Services between September 21, 1987, and May 9, 1988.[1]

Evans faced a surprisingly strong challenge from PC candidate Jim Armstrong in the 1986 provincial election but was re-elected by about 1000 votes. He again defeated Armstrong by 653 votes in 1988, despite a sharp decline in NDP support in the rest of the province.[5]

Prior to the fall of the NDP government in 1988, Evans went on record as being one of the few MLAs in his party to oppose the Meech Lake Accord. He wanted to join with Elijah Harper in denying approval for the Accord in 1990 but declined so as not to detract from the issue of aboriginal rights (Harper was aboriginal, Evans was not).[6] As a cabinet minister, Evans stopped the process of adopting aboriginal children to non-aboriginal families outside of the province, a process which many aboriginal activists had regarded as cultural genocide.

Evans served as NDP Finance critic from 1988 to 1999. By now a respected "elder statesman" in the party, he had little difficulty being re-elected in the elections of 1990 and 1995. He did not seek re-election in the 1999 Manitoba general election; Drew Caldwell retained Brandon East for the NDP.[1] As of July 2010, he was a member of the province's Public Utilities Board.[7]

In 2007, Evans was elected as president of the Association of Former Manitoba MLAs.[8] He died on January 2, 2016, at the age of 86 after suffering a heart attack in the previous week.[9][10]