Walter Dinsdale

Lee Clark
Lee Clark
Member of Parliament; for Brandon
	In office; 25 June 1951 – 9 August 1953
Preceded by	James Matthews
Succeeded by	Riding merged
Personal details
Born	Walter Gilbert Dinsdale; 3 April 1916; Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Died	20 November 1982 (aged 66); Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Lenore Gusdal (m. 1947)
Children	5
Residence(s)	Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Alma mater	McMaster University (BA); University of Toronto (MA);
Profession	Lecturer; social worker; teacher;

Walter Gilbert Dinsdale PC DFC (3 April 1916 – 20 November 1982) was a Canadian politician, known for his works with people with disabilities, who served as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament from 1951 until his death.

Early life

Born in

Brandon College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937 from McMaster University. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1951.^[1]

Career

Prior to entering politics, Dinsdale was a social worker with the

Salvation Army,^[1] and from 1946 to 1951 served as the director of adult education and assistant professor of social services at Brandon College.^[1]

Dinsdale enlisted in the

Second World War.^[1] He trained at CFB Borden in Belleville and at No. 2 Service Flying Training School in Ottawa, graduating in 1942. He arrived in Europe on 29 December 1942 and ended his military career in 1945 at the end of the Second World War.^[1]

He was awarded the

V-1 flying bombs

, using the wing-tip of the de Havilland Mosquito to knock them off-course.

Political career

Dinsdale was a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1951 until his death in 1982, being first elected in a 1951 by-election with an upset victory to take a seat previously held by the Liberals.

Dinsdale was originally hesitant about running in the by-election, and was fired by Brandon College soon after his nomination. Dinsdale won 56.9% of the vote in that by-election.

During his tenure in the House of Commons of Canada, he represented the riding of Brandon for one year in 1951 until it was merged with the neighbouring riding of Souris to form Brandon—Souris. He held Brandon-Souris from 1952 until his death in 1982, winning 11 consecutive election victories. At the time of his death he was the Dean of the House - the longest-serving Member of Parliament.^[2]

During his period as MP, he was the

Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources from 1960 to 1963. He was also acting Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys

for a few months in 1961.

In 1963, while serving as

Department of the Environment. Dinsdale worked tirelessly for many causes, including First Nations, international human rights, immigrant Canadians and most notably disabled persons. He was vice-chair of the Special Committee on the Disabled, whose work led to many improvements in services for disabled Canadians, and worked with many international governments and organizations to improve the lives of the disabled everywhere, and in 1981 was Canada's delegate to the United Nations for the International Year of Disabled Persons

.

Honours

The Walter Dinsdale Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in developing technologies that improve the lives of the disabled, is named in his honour.

Dinsdale was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree by Brandon University and a Doctor of Humanities degree from Richmond College in Toronto for his works with disabled people.[3]

Death

He died from kidney failure in 1982, after suffering a stroke about two months before his death. He is buried in Brandon.^[3] Following his death, he was eulogized in the House of Commons of Canada, following which the house was adjourned for the day in tribute.^[2]

Family

Walter married Lenore Gusdal, and had 5 children: Gunnar, Greg, Elizabeth, Eric and Rolf. His son Rolf ran as a Liberal Party of Canada candidate in a federal by-election in Brandon—Souris in 2013,^[4] losing narrowly to Larry Maguire.

Electoral record

Note: This list is incomplete.

v t e 1979 Canadian federal election: Brandon—Souris
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Walter Dinsdale	19,108	52.67
	New Democratic	David Serle	8,949	24.67
	Liberal	Vaughn Ramsay	7,918	21.83
	Social Credit	John W. Gross	302	0.83
Total valid votes			36,277	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			75
Turnout			36,352	74.48
Electors on the lists			48,808

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Memorable Manitobans: Walter Gilbert Dinsdale (1916-1982)". Manitoba Historical Society, March 3, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Colleagues mourn dean of Commons". The Globe and Mail, November 23, 1982.
^ ^a ^b "DinsdaleWG".
^ "Rolf Dinsdale to stand for Liberals in Manitoba byelection". CTV News, October 10, 2013.
^ "Walter Gilbert Dinsdale fonds, Library and Archives Canada". 20 July 2017.

External links

Walter Dinsdale – Parliament of Canada biography

[mhs-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Memorable Manitobans: Walter Gilbert Dinsdale (1916-1982)". Manitoba Historical Society, March 3, 2012.

[colleagues-2] "Colleagues mourn dean of Commons". The Globe and Mail, November 23, 1982.

[valour-3] "DinsdaleWG".

[4] "Rolf Dinsdale to stand for Liberals in Manitoba byelection". CTV News, October 10, 2013.

[5] "Walter Gilbert Dinsdale fonds, Library and Archives Canada". 20 July 2017.

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