George Johnson (Manitoba politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
George Johnson, O.C., M.D, LLD, (November 18, 1920 - July 8, 1995) was a medical doctor and one of the leading political reformers of the twentieth century in Manitoba. He served as a Cabinet Minister in the governments of Dufferin Roblin and Walter Weir and, notably, as the province's Lieutenant-Governor from 1986 to 1993.
Dr. Johnson was born in Winnipeg, to a family of Icelandic heritage. He received a B.Sc. and M.D. from the University of Manitoba and served as a Lieutenant (later, Captain) with the Royal Canadian Navy from 1941-1945.
Dr. Johnson was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1958, for the riding of Gimli, north of Winnipeg. A Progressive Conservative, he was appointed Minister of Health and Public Welfare in the minority government of Dufferin Roblin, who had personally recruited him to run for the party. He retained the health portfolio when the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in 1959, and oversaw a policy of major hospital expansions in the province and many other significant reforms between 1959 and 1963.
On December 9, 1963, Dr. Johnson moved to the Ministry of Education where his skills served the government well as it sought to cope with the educational requirements of a rapidly expanding baby-boom population. He held this position until September 24, 1968, and was responsible for, among other achievements, the establishment of the universities of Winnipeg and Brandon, respectively, and the Manitoba Institute of Technology (later 'Red River Community College'), and for introducing an innovative policy of "shared services" for public and separate schools (allowing children in separate schools to access public programs for busing, textbooks and the like). In 1968, Dr. Johnson returned to his old portfolio as Minister of Health, to oversee a near-revolutionary change in the provision of medical services: the implementation of medicare in Manitoba.
Ideologically, Dr. Johnson was a progressive, often referred to as (somewhat erroneously) a Red Tory with beliefs similar to those held by Premier Roblin. Along with Roblin, he is widely considered the leading political reformer of his generation and among the most influential cabinet ministers in Manitoba history. Although generally a free marketeer, Dr. Johnson supported government intervention in the economy in areas where he felt the private sector was lacking, for example, in such areas as public utility management, education, major infrastructure projects and certain medical services. When Roblin shifted to federal politics in 1967, Dr. Johnson was the only candidate from the party's progressive wing to seek its leadership. He came surprisingly close to winning the leadership since he was seen as the compromise choice between two right-wingers, Walter Weir (who won) and Sterling Lyon. In the end, despite a successful issue-oriented' leadership campaign, Dr. Johnson fell just short of moving to the second round of balloting; had he done so, he would probably have won the leadership and premiership of the province.
Dr. Johnson did not seek re-election in 1969, and returned to medical practice in Winnipeg. A gifted physician, within a few years he had one of the largest medical practices in Manitoba. Leaving medicine again for the public arena in 1978, Johnson served for the subsequent eight years as a special consultant to the Manitoba government, providing strategic advice and counsel to the government in various areas of health policy. On December 11, 1986, in recognition of his services to the people of Manitoba, he was appointed as the province's Lieutenant-Governor by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He served this position with distinction until March 5, 1993. In his career, Dr. Johnson was awarded the Order of Canada in 1994, the Order of the Falcon in 1992 (conferred by the Government of Iceland), and honourary Doctor of Laws degrees from the Universities of Manitoba, Winnipeg and Royal Roads respectively (1992-95).
Dr. Johnson died in 1995. His wife, the former Doris Blondal, died in 1996. Dr. and Mrs. Johnson had six children: Janis, Jennifer, Daniel, Jon, Jo Ann and Gillian, and ten grandchildren: Stefan, Aidan, Katherine, Elizabeth, Ciura, Stefanie, Sarah, Kristine, Max and Benedict.
| Preceded by: Pearl McGonigal |
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba 1986-1993 |
Succeeded by: W. Yvon Dumont |
