View source for Errick Willis

{{Short description|Canadian politician and Olympic curler (1896-1967)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Errick French Willis
| honorific-suffix =
| image            = Errick Willis.jpeg
| imagesize        =
| caption          =  
| order            = 15th
| office           = Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
| term_start       = January 15, 1960
| term_end         = November 1, 1965
| predecessor      = [[John Stewart McDiarmid]]
| successor        = [[Richard Spink Bowles]]
| monarch          = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor_general = [[Georges Vanier]]
| premier          = [[Dufferin Roblin|Duff Roblin]]
| riding1          = [[Souris (electoral district)|Souris]]
| parliament1      = Canadian
| term_start1      = July 28, 1930
| term_end1        = October 14, 1935
| predecessor1     = [[James Steedsman]]
| successor1       = [[George William McDonald]]
| office2          = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] for [[Deloraine (Manitoba riding)|Deloraine]]
| term_start2      = July 27, 1936
| term_end2        = October 15, 1945
| predecessor2     = [[Hugh McKenzie (Manitoba politician)|Hugh McKenzie]]
| successor2       = [[James O. Argue]]
| office3          = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] for [[Turtle Mountain (electoral district)|Turtle Mountain]]
| term_start3      = October 15, 1945
| term_end3        = November 26, 1959
| predecessor3     = [[Alexander Welch]]
| successor3       = [[Edward Dow]]
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1896|3|21}}
| birth_place      = [[Boissevain, Manitoba]], Canada
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1967|1|9|1896|3|21}}
| death_place      = [[Winnipeg, Manitoba]], Canada
| spouse           = 
| party            = [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Conservative]]
| otherparty       = [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative]]
| relations        = [[R.G. Willis]] (father)
| children         = 
| alma_mater       = [[University of Toronto]]<br />[[University of Manitoba]]
| occupation       = Lawyer and Farmer
| profession       = Politician
}}
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{{MedalSport|Men's [[Curling at the Winter Olympics|Curling]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1932 Winter Olympics|1932 Lake Placid]]|''[[Curling at the 1932 Winter Olympics|Curling (demonstration)]]''}}
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'''Errick French Willis''' (March 21, 1896 &ndash; January 9, 1967) was a politician in [[Manitoba]], Canada. He served as leader of the province's [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Conservative Party]] between 1936 and 1954,<ref name="parlbio">{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=15803|nolist=yes}}</ref> and was responsible for beginning and ending the party's alliance with the [[Manitoba Liberal Party|Liberal-Progressive Party]].<ref name="adams"/> He also served as Manitoba's [[List of lieutenant governors of Manitoba#Lieutenant Governors of Manitoba, 1870-present|15th]] [[Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba|Lieutenant Governor]] between 1960 and 1965.<ref name="parlbio"/>

==Early life and education==

Willis was born in [[Boissevain, Manitoba|Boissevain]], Manitoba.<ref name="parlbio"/>  He was the son of [[R.G. Willis]], himself the leader of the Conservative Party from 1919 to 1920.<ref name="adams">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mLQ3Nhdnv5sC&pg=PA31 |title=Politics in Manitoba: Parties, Leaders, and Voters |pages=31–35 |last=Adams |first=Christopher |isbn=978-0887553554 |year=2008 |publisher=University of Manitoba Press |access-date=2013-03-31}}</ref>

The younger Willis received a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] from the [[University of Toronto]], an [[Master of Arts|MA]] from the [[University of Manitoba]] and an [[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B]] from the [[University of Manitoba]]. He subsequently worked as a barrister and farmer, and was involved in local [[Freemasonry|masonic]] organizations. Willis married Louise Isabel Trimble Willis.<ref name="mhs">{{cite web |url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/willis_ef.shtml |title=Errick French Willis (1896-1967) |publisher=Manitoba Historical Society |access-date=2013-03-31}}</ref>

==Political career==

Willis began his political career at the federal level. He was a [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative]], but used the label "[[Progressive-Conservative (candidate)|Progressive-Conservative]]" in [[Souris (electoral district)|Souris]] in the [[1926 Canadian federal election|election of 1926]], and was defeated by a straight [[Progressive Party of Canada|Progressive]] candidate. He won the riding in the [[1930 Canadian federal election|1930 election]], again having contested it as a "Progressive-Conservative" and served for five years as a backbench supporter of [[R.B. Bennett]]'s Conservative government.<ref name="parlbio"/> In 1932, outside politics, Willis was a member of the Canadian curling team that won a gold medal in the [[Curling at the 1932 Winter Olympics|curling event at the 1932 Winter Olympics]].<ref name="mhs"/>

He was defeated in the [[1935 Canadian federal election|1935 election]],<ref name="parlbio"/> losing by three votes to the Liberal candidate.

Willis was acclaimed as leader of the provincial [[Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party|Conservative Party]] on June 9, 1936, replacing [[W. Sanford Evans]]. He was elected for the riding of [[Deloraine, Manitoba|Deloraine]] in a provincial election held later in the year.<ref name="members">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.mb.ca/hansard/members/mla_bio_deceased.html#W |title=MLA Biographies - Deceased |work=Legislative Assembly of Manitoba |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330185239/http://www.gov.mb.ca/hansard/members/mla_bio_deceased.html#W |archive-date=2014-03-30 }}</ref>

The election of 1936 was very close, with [[John Bracken]]'s Liberal-Progressives winning 23 seats in the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] and Willis's Conservatives winning 16. Another 16 seats were won by smaller parties. There were rumours of a Bracken-Willis coalition after the election, but this plan was rejected by the Conservative leader.<ref name="adams"/>

After the start of [[World War II]], the idea of an all-party coalition was revived by Bracken's government. The Conservatives, [[Manitoba Social Credit Party|Social Credit]] and the [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation of Manitoba|Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]] joined Bracken's Liberal-Progressives in a "non-partisan government", meant to demonstrate the united resolve of the province. Willis was sworn in as [[Minister of Public Works (Manitoba)|Minister of Public Works]] on November 4, 1940. When CCF leader [[Seymour Farmer]] resigned in 1942, Willis also became [[Minister of Labour and Immigration (Manitoba)|Minister of Labour]], holding this position until 1944.<ref name="members"/>

The coalition was generally advantageous to the Conservative Party, which was renamed the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party in the mid-1940s. Its ministers were allowed a fair degree of autonomy, and were fully integrated into the province's governing structure, unlike the CCF and Social Credit ministers, who were marginalized. The party maintained an identity separate from the Liberal-Progressives throughout this period. In a 1946 manifesto, its members pledged to support an increase in old-age [[pension]]s, a decrease in [[tariff]] rates, and further transportation openings to the province's north. Willis, supported by the Liberal-Progressives, was re-elected by acclamation in 1941, 1945 and 1949.<ref name="members"/>

There were some Progressive Conservatives who opposed the coalition, particularly after Liberal-Progressive [[Member of the Legislative Assembly]] (MLA) [[Douglas Lloyd Campbell|Douglas Campbell]] became the province's premier in 1948. The Conservatives had nominated Willis to be premier, but Campbell defeated him in a vote among coalition MLAs. Campbell's philosophy of "minimal government" was rejected by the more progressive figures in the PC ranks, the most vocal of whom was [[Dufferin Roblin]] (grandson of former Premier Sir [[Rodmond Roblin]]). In 1949, Roblin was elected to the legislature for [[Winnipeg South]] as an anti-coalition Progressive Conservative.<ref name="adams"/>

Under pressure from his party and disturbed by the Campbell government's inaction on various issues, Willis resigned from cabinet on August 19, 1950. At a party convention in October, the Progressive Conservatives voted 215 to 17 to leave the coalition. Willis, who also fended off a leadership challenge from George Hastings at the convention, once again became leader of the opposition.<ref name="adams"/>

Willis was re-elected for [[Turtle Mountain (electoral district)|Turtle Mountain]] in the provincial election of 1953,<ref name="members"/> but the provincial Progressive Conservative organization was weak, and Campbell's Liberal-Progressives won a decisive majority. MLA [[J. Arthur Ross]] forced a leadership convention in 1954; at this convention, Roblin defeated Willis to become party leader.<ref name="adams"/>

Willis continued as a member of the legislature after this loss. He was re-elected in 1958, and served in Roblin's minority government as [[Minister of Public Works (Manitoba)|Minister of Public Works]], [[Minister of Agriculture]] and [[Manitoba Deputy Premier|Deputy Premier]]. Re-elected again in 1959, he continued to serve in cabinet until January 15, 1960, when he was appointed as the province's lieutenant governor. He remained in this position until August 31, 1965.<ref name="members"/>

==Death==
Willis died in Winnipeg<ref name="mhs"/> on January 9, 1967.<ref name="parlbio"/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Manitoba PC Leaders}}
{{MBLG}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Curling Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Errick F.}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
[[Category:Lieutenant governors of Manitoba]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Lawyers in Manitoba]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:University of Manitoba alumni]]
[[Category:Curlers from Manitoba]]
[[Category:Curlers at the 1932 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Manitoba Conservative Party]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba]]
[[Category:Canadian sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:Canadian sportsperson-politicians from Manitoba]]
[[Category:People from Boissevain, Manitoba]]
[[Category:Olympic curlers for Canada]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada]]
[[Category:Robson Hall alumni]]
[[Category:Canadian male curlers]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]