Stanley Knowles

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For the Australian politician, see Stan Knowles.
Whip
In office
1944–1958
LeaderM. J. Coldwell
Hazen Argue
Preceded byTommy Douglas
Succeeded byTommy Douglas
Member of Parliament
for Winnipeg North Centre
In office
June 18, 1962 – September 3, 1984
Preceded byJohn MacLean
Succeeded byCyril Keeper
In office
November 30, 1942 – March 30, 1958
Preceded byJ. S. Woodsworth
Succeeded byJohn MacLean
Executive Vice President of the Canadian Labour Congress
In office
1958–1962
Serving with William Dodge
PresidentClaude Jodoin
Preceded byGordon G. Cushing
Succeeded byJoe Morris
Member of the Winnipeg City Council
In office
1941–1942
Personal details
Born
Stanley Howard Knowles

(1908-06-18)June 18, 1908
Clergyman

Stanley Howard Knowles

New Democratic Party (NDP).[1]

Knowles was widely regarded and respected as the foremost expert on

House Leader for decades. He was also a leading advocate of social justice,[1] and was largely responsible for persuading the governments to increase Old Age Security benefits and for the introduction of the Canada Pension Plan,[1] as well as other features of the welfare state
.

Early life and career

Born in

ecumenical
social justice movement founded in 1921. Knowles was ordained in 1933 after graduating from theological college.

Political career

Knowles joined the CCF in 1934, during the Great Depression, and ran unsuccessfully for election to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1935 in Winnipeg South Centre and 1940 federal elections in Springfield and for the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 1941 provincial election. He was first elected to the House of Commons in a 1942 by-election in Winnipeg North Centre that was held on the death of former CCF leader J. S. Woodsworth. He became an expert on parliamentary procedure, and used his skills to humiliate the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent during the 1956 Pipeline Debate.[4] This helped contribute to the government's electoral defeat in the 1957 election.

New Democratic Party in 1961.[4] Knowles ran as the new party's candidate for his old seat in the 1962 election, and won. He played a crucial role through minority governments
of the 1960s and 1970s using the NDP's position holding the balance of power to persuade successive Liberal governments to introduce progressive measures.

Knowles was also known for his refusal to partake in many of the financial perks and entitlements available to a Member of Parliament. For the entirety of his career in politics, he boarded with the family of Susan Mann when in Ottawa rather than purchasing a residence of his own.[1] Mann herself later published a biography of Knowles, Stanley Knowles: The Man from Winnipeg North Centre, in 1982.[5]

In 1979, he became a member of the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Joe Clark
.

Retirement

Knowles battled multiple sclerosis from 1946, but it was his 1981 stroke that ultimately removed him from public life. He retired from politics in 1984, but was given the unprecedented distinction of being made an honorary table officer of the House of Commons by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.[1] This allowed him to spend his retirement viewing parliamentary debates from the floor of the House, and he was often seen to do so until further strokes left him bedridden.

In 1984, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[4] From 1970 to 1990, he was the chancellor of Brandon University, and today has the school's student union building named after himself and Tommy Douglas. He also has an elementary / junior high school in northwest Winnipeg named after him. He died in 1997.[4]

Electoral history

1935 Canadian federal election: Winnipeg South Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ralph Maybank 11,264 36.4 −7.6
Conservative William Walker Kennedy 9,382 30.3 −25.7
Co-operative Commonwealth Stanley Knowles 6,573 21.2
Reconstruction Alfred James Susans 2,642 8.5
Social Credit Arthur Brown 1,114 3.6
Total valid votes 30,975 100.0

Publications

  • Knowles, Stanley (1957). "Some Thoughts on Parliamentary Procedure". Queen's Quarterly. 63 (4). Kingston: 525–527.
    ISSN 0033-6041
    .
  • — (1959). "Business, Labour and Politics". In Greenslade, John Gareth (ed.). Canadian Politics: Speeches by F. M. Watkins, Stanley Knowles, J. R. Mallory and H. D. Hicks. Mount Allison University Publication. Vol. 4. Sackville | Mount Allison University Summer Institute conference: Mount Allison University.
  • — (1961). The New Party. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
    OCLC 2187463
    .
  • — (1965). How Parliament Works. Education Conference of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Niagara Falls, Ontario, February 13, 1965.

Archives

There is a Stanley Knowles fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[6] Archival reference number is R6931.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Corbett, Ron (26 May 2013). "Stanley Knowles: The late, great anti-Mike Duffy". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0226-5036
    . Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  3. ISBN 978-1-927356-23-4
    .
  4. ^
    Mann Trofimenkoff, Susan (16 December 2013) [First published 2008]. "Stanley Knowles". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Toronto: Historica Canada. Archived from the original
    on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-88780-144-0
    .
  6. ^ "Finding aid to Stanley Knowles fonds, Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Retrieved 27 May 2020.

External links

Quotations related to Stanley Knowles at Wikiquote

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Winnipeg North Centre
1962–1984 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Winnipeg North Centre
1942–1958 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of Brandon University
1970–1990 		Succeeded by
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