Skuli Sigfusson

Who was Skuli Sigfusson?

Skuli Sigfusson was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba on three occasions: from 1915 to 1920, 1922 to 1936, and 1941 to 1945.

Sigfusson was born to an Icelandic family living in Nordfjordur, Iceland. He was educated at home and came to Canada in 1887 to work as a farmer and rancher. He married Gudrun Arnason, daughter of Arnor Arnason, of Chicago, in January 1908. They had seven children: Arthur F. Sigfusson, E. Maria Sigfusson, Svein O. Sigfusson, Skuli A. Sigfusson, Sigurdur Jon Sigfusson, Olaf Sigfusson, Thomas Sigfusson. He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1914 provincial election. As Liberal, he lost the constituency of St. George to Conservative Edmund L. Taylor by 101 votes.

The Conservative government of Rodmond Roblin was forced to resign amid scandal in early 1915. Sigfusson ran again in the that year's provincial election, and defeated his Conservative opponent Paul Reykdal by 460 votes. The Liberals won a landslide victory in this election, and Sigfusson served as a backbench supporter of Tobias Norris's government.

Manitoba's political culture changed significantly between 1915 and 1920, after the Winnipeg General Strike and the rise of labour politics. Sigfusson lost his seat to Albert Kristjansson of the Labour Party in the 1920 provincial election, as the Liberals were reduced to a precarious minority government.