Stuart Garson

Who was Stuart Garson?

Stuart Sinclair Garson, PC CC KC was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Premier of Manitoba from 1943 to 1948, and later became a federal cabinet minister.

Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, the son of William Garson and Margaret Annable, Garson came to Manitoba with his parents in 1901. He received a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Manitoba in 1918 and was called to the bar a year later. He practised law in Ashern, Manitoba from 1919 to 1928. Garson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the riding of Fairford in 1927, defeating incumbent Liberal Albert Kirvan. He defeated again Kirvan in 1932, and faced only minor competition for the remainder of his time in the Manitoba legislature. In early 1932, Garson was one of the founding members of the province's Liberal-Progressive coalition.

Garson was sworn in as provincial Treasurer on September 21, 1936. He also became minister of the Manitoba Power Commission on November 4, 1940, and Minister of Public Utilities on May 15, 1941. He continued to hold all of these positions after succeeding John Bracken as Premier on January 14, 1943. He resigned the MPC and Utilities portfolios in 1944.