George Renouf

Who was George Renouf?

George Poddester Renouf was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1932 to 1958, initially as a Conservative and later as a Progressive Conservative, once the party changed its name.

Renouf was educated at a private school in Jersey, and came to Canada in 1896, moving to Winnipeg in 1898 and to Bowsman the following year. In 1906, he married Elsie Marie Le Salleur, also from Jersey. He worked as a farmer, and was reeve of the Minitonas municipality from 1921 to 1932. He was also president of the Minitonas Red Cross. Renouf farmed in the Swan River valley until 1955.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1932 provincial election, defeating independent candidate S. Einarson by 419 votes in the Swan River constituency. He was re-elected in the 1936 election, defeating Liberal-Progressive D. Baldwin by only twelve votes.

The Conservative Party, which was Manitoba's official opposition in the 1930s, joined the Liberal-Progressives in a coalition government in 1940. Renouf became a government backbencher, and was easily returned in the 1941 election.