To Celebrate Black History Month here is a piece of Black History in the Manitoba Liberal Party

George Waldron Prout

Back in 2019, the Progressive Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party both claimed to have elected the “First Black person to the Manitoba Legislature”. Except that they didn't. We did.

The first Black person to be elected to the Manitoba Legislature was George Waldron Prout, a Liberal, in the constituency of Kildonan–St. Andrews, back in 1915.

George was born in the Bahamas on June 5, 1878, and came to Canada as a teenager. He was a financial agent prior to entering politics.

He first ran in 1914 and lost a very close election- by one vote! He won in the next election in 1915, by 541 votes.

In 1917, he introduced the Rural Credits Act which provided for the establishment of credit societies that could obtain short term loans on behalf of members to purchase seed, livestock, implements, machinery, and other supplies.

Prior to the next election - 1920, a change in Manitoba's Electoral System redesigned Winnipeg as a ten-member constituency, with members chosen by a single transferable ballot and he wasn’t re-elected.

By the 1930’s he was living in Toronto and working as a financial agent (possibly as a senior executive at Canada Packers), and he spent the rest of his life there.

Sources: Elections Manitoba, the Manitoba Historical Society Archives and Wikipedia

Willard Reaves and Black History Month