Paul Edwards (politician)

Canadian politician

This article is about the politician. For the philosopher, see Paul Edwards (philosopher).

See also: Manitoba Liberal Party leadership elections

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Paul Edwards

Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party
In office
June 4, 1993 – November 19, 1996
Preceded by| Sharon Carstairs
Succeeded by| Ginny Hasselfield
Leader of the Second Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
In office
June 4, 1993 – March 20, 1995
Preceded by| Sharon Carstairs
Succeeded by| Dougald Lamont (2018)
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for St. James
In office
April 26, 1988 – April 25, 1995
Preceded by| Al Mackling
Succeeded by| MaryAnn Mihychuk
Personal details
Born|  (1961-02-21) February 21, 1961 (age 61)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Political party| Manitoba Liberal Party

Paul Edwards (born February 21, 1961) is a Manitoba politician[1] and lawyer. He served as leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 1993 to 1996.

Edwards was born in Kingston, Ontario and was educated at Trent University and Queen's University. He later worked as a barrister and solicitor.

In 1988, Edwards was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the Winnipeg riding of St. James, defeating his closest competitor, Progressive Conservative Jae Eadie, by 579 votes. He joined 19 other Liberals in forming the official opposition to the minority government of Progressive Conservative Premier Gary Filmon.

The 1988 election was a landmark for the Manitoba Liberal Party, in that it had previously been reduced to a marginal presence in the province. The unpopularity of Howard Pawley's New Democratic government in 1988 had given the party the support of many centre-left voters, and many[who?] believed that the Liberals had a chance to form government in the next election. This did not occur. The New Democratic Party recovered under Gary Doer's leadership, and the Liberals were reduced to only seven seats (out of 57) in the election of 1990. Edwards was re-elected in St. James, this time defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Joanne Thibault by 295 votes.

Liberal leader Sharon Carstairs was blamed by many in the party for squandering a chance to form government, and resigned as party leader in 1993. Subsequently, Edwards defeated MLA Kevin Lamoureux to become the party's new leader.

The Liberals initially appeared to have a reasonable chance of winning the 1995 election, placing a strong second to the Tories in early polls. They ran a poor campaign, however, and the NDP overtook them well before election day. The Liberals fell to three seats in the election of 1995: Lamoureux was re-elected in his constituency of Inkster, as were Neil Gaudry in St. Boniface and Gary Kowalski in The Maples. In another close race in St. James, Edwards lost to New Democratic candidate MaryAnn Mihychuk by 166 votes. He announced his resignation as party leader later in the year. He formally resigned in 1996, and subsequently returned to a legal practice.

Edwards is married to Anne MacKay. They have four children: Beth, Evan, Wynn and Adam.

## Election results[edit]

1988 Manitoba general election: St. James

Party  | Candidate  | Votes | % | ±%
| Liberal | Paul Edwards | 3,939 | 40.14 |
| Progressive Conservative | Jae Eadie | 3,360 | 34.24 |
| New Democratic | Allan MacDonald | 2,171 | 22.13 |
| Confederation of Regions | Fred Debrecen | 137 | 1.40 |
| Progressive | Charles Lamont | 74 | 0.75 |
| Libertarian | Dennis Rice | 69 | 0.70 |
| Western Independence | Merle Hartlin | 62 | 0.63 |
Total valid votes  | 9,812 | 100.00
Rejected ballots  | 29 | -
Turnout  | 9,841 | 78.54
Eligible voters  | 12,530
Source: Elections Manitoba[2]
1990 Manitoba general election: St. James

Party  | Candidate  | Votes | % | ±%
| Liberal | Paul Edwards | 3,014 | 35.09 | -5.05
| Progressive Conservative | Joanne Thibault | 2,719 | 31.66 | -2.58
| New Democratic | Len Sawatsky | 2,586 | 30.11 | +7.98
| Progressive | Charles Lamont | 148 | 1.72 | +0.97
| Confederation of Regions | Fred Debrecen | 122 | 1.42 | -0.02
Total valid votes  | 8,589 | 100.00 | -
Rejected ballots  | 22 | - | -
Turnout  | 8,611 | 73.37
Eligible voters  | 11,737
Source: Elections Manitoba[3]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Brodbeck, Tom (21 September 2010). "Poll not all good for PCs". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
2. ^ "Candidates: 34th General Election" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. April 26, 1988. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
3. ^ "Candidates: 35th General Election" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. September 11, 1990. Retrieved 30 September 2018.

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Leaders of the Manitoba Liberal Party

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* D. L. Campbell
* Molgat
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* Huband
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* Hasselfield
* Gerrard
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* Klassen
* Lamont

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