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Gwen Charles

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Canadian politician

Gwen Charles (born July 19, 1949, in Lindsay, Ontario) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1990, representing the riding of Selkirk for the Manitoba Liberal Party.

The daughter of Allen Glover, she grew up in Belleville Ontario and began her career at the municipal level, serving as a councillor in the town of Selkirk. She married Garry James Gordon Charles in 1969. Charles first ran for provincial office in the election of 1986, finishing third in the Selkirk riding with 1023 votes. At the time, the riding's MLA was New Democrat Howard Pawley, the provincial Premier.

In early 1988, Pawley's government was unexpectedly defeated when disgruntled backbencher Jim Walding voted against his party's annual budget in an evenly divided legislature. Pawley stepped down as premier and did not run in the election which followed. With the riding open, Charles was able to defeat NDP candidate Terry Sargeant by just 184 votes.

The Liberals increased their parliamentary representation from one to twenty in this election, and Charles spent the next two years in the official opposition. In 1990, she supported Paul Martin for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Like many of her Liberal colleagues, she was defeated in the 1990 election amid a general decline in support for her party (once again, she placed third behind the NDP and Progressive Conservative candidates).

Gwen moved back to Ontario and built one of the first social enterprises, Pivotal Services of London, winning the Peter F. Drucker Award for Innovation.

Elections

1986 Manitoba general election: Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Howard Pawley 5,135 54.93 -9.17
Progressive Conservative Eugene Kinaschuk 3,119 33.36 -1.05
Liberal Gwen Charles 1,023 10.94 –
Progressive Raye Porhownik 72 0.77 -0.72
Total valid votes 9,349 – –
Rejected 19 –
Eligible voters / Turnout 12,502 74.93 -0.10
New Democratic hold Swing -4.06
Source(s) Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (1999). Statement of Votes for the 37th Provincial General Election, September 21, 1999 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba.
1988 Manitoba general election: Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Gwen Charles 3,821 35.35 24.40
New Democratic Terry Sargeant 3,637 33.64 -21.28
Progressive Conservative Eugene Kinaschuk 3,138 29.03 -4.33
Western Independence Ruth Van Koeveringe 214 1.98 –
Total valid votes 10,810 – –
Rejected 10 –
Eligible voters / turnout 13,448 80.46 5.53
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +22.85
Source(s) Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (1999). Statement of Votes for the 37th Provincial General Election, September 21, 1999 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba.
1990 Manitoba general election: Selkirk
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Greg Dewar 3,735 36.58 2.93
Progressive Conservative Russ Farrell 3,467 33.95 4.92
Liberal Gwen Charles 3,009 29.47 -5.88
Total valid votes 10,211 – –
Rejected 31 –
Eligible voters / turnout 13,758 74.44 -6.01
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +4.41
Source(s) Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (1999). Statement of Votes for the 37th Provincial General Election, September 21, 1999 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba.

References

  1. ^ Normandin, Pierre G (1989). Canadian Parliamentary Guide.
  2. ^ "MLA Biographies - Living". The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  3. ^ "Selkirk". Manitoba. CBC News.
  4. "By One Vote: The Defeat of the Manitoba Government". Canadian Parliamentary Review. 12 (1). 1989. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
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