Leonard Barkman

Who was Leonard Barkman?

Leonard A. Barkman was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Manitoba legislature from 1962 to 1973, sitting as a member of the Liberal Party. He was the first Mennonite elected to the Manitoba assembly from an area formerly known as the "East Reserve", which had at one time been set aside by the federal government for settlement by Mennonite immigrants.

The son of F. Barkman and Margaret Dueck, both natives of the Netherlands, Barkman was educated in Steinbach-area schools, operated a small business in the city and married Agnes Reimer in 1945. He also served as mayor of Steinbach for a number of years.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the election of 1962, defeating Progressive Conservative Peter Thiessen by over 800 votes in the riding of Carillon. He was re-elected by an expanded margin in the 1966 election. In the 1969 election, he was re-elected in the redistributed riding of La Verendrye.

Support for the Manitoba Liberal Party declined in the 1970s, and Barkman was defeated by Progressive Conservative Robert Banman by 525 votes in the provincial election of 1973. He did not seek a return to the legislature after this time.