John C. Dryden

Who was John C. Dryden?

John Cameron Dryden was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1941 to 1949, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Stuart Garson and Douglas Campbell.

Dryden was educated at the Manitoba Agricultural College, and worked as a farmer. He served for ten years on the municipal council of Ste. Agathe, and served overseas in World War I from 1915 to 1918 as a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers. Dryden received a military medal in 1917. In 1919, he married Luella Mary Kemp.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1941 provincial election, defeating Liberal-Progressive candidate L.A. Slater in the rural constituency of Morris. Although elected as an independent, Dryden was a supporter of the coalition government led by Liberal-Progressive Premier John Bracken. He joined the Liberal-Progressive Party himself during the parliament which followed.

Dryden was appointed to Stuart Garson's cabinet on February 4, 1944 as Minister of Education.