Ernest Perley

Who was Ernest Perley?

Ernest Edward Perley was a Liberal then Conservative then National Government member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born in Maugerville, New Brunswick and became a farmer.

Perley, the son of Senator William Dell Perley, attended public and secondary schools at Wolseley, then studied at Winnipeg's Wesley College.

He was a municipal councillor for Wolseley, Saskatchewan, becoming the community's mayor in 1921 and 1922.

He was first elected to Parliament at the Qu'Appelle riding in the 1930 general election with the Liberal party after making an unsuccessful attempt to win a seat there as a Conservative party candidate in 1921.

However, in the 1935 election, he switched back to the Conservatives and won re-election at Qu'Appelle. He was re-elected in 1940 when the Conservatives ran under the National Government banner. In the 1945 election, Perley was defeated by Gladys Strum of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.