Leonard Salusbury Evans was a Canadian politician in Manitoba.
22 Facts About Leonard Evans
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Leonard Evans was a member of the Manitoba legislature from 1969 to 1999 and was a Cabinet Minister in the governments of New Democratic Premiers Edward Schreyer and Howard Pawley.
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The son of David Evans and Gwen Salusbury, he was born in Winnipeg and educated at Transcona Collegiate Institute, the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, Simon Fraser University and the University of Ottawa.
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Leonard Evans worked as an economist and a professor of economics before entering political life.
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Leonard Evans first ran for public office in the Canadian federal election of 1953, running as a Cooperative Commonwealth Federation candidate in the riding of St Boniface.
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Leonard Evans finished second with 5,568 votes, a credible showing for the party in the region.
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Leonard Evans was elected to the Manitoba legislature as a New Democrat in the provincial election of 1969.
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Leonard Evans was elected in the riding of Brandon East, in the province's southwestern corner.
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Leonard Evans was named Minister of Mines and Natural Resources on July 15,1969.
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Leonard Evans was given ministerial responsibility for the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation on September 22,1976.
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Leonard Evans oversaw the Manitoba Development Corporation in his ministerial role and used his position to promote public management within certain industries.
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Leonard Evans faced a more serious challenge from Progressive Conservative James Thornborough in the 1977 election but still won by over 1,000 votes.
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The Tories won the 1977 election, and Leonard Evans served as opposition critic for Economic Development over the next four years.
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The NDP were returned to government in 1981, and Leonard Evans was appointed as Minister of Community Service and Correction and Minister of Natural Resources on November 30,1981, receiving responsibility for the Manitoba Telephone System.
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Leonard Evans was relieved of the latter two positions on August 20,1982, and on November 4,1983, was transferred to the Ministry of Employment Services and Economic Security, where he would remain until the fall of the NDP government in 1988.
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Leonard Evans faced a surprisingly strong challenge from PC candidate Jim Armstrong in the 1986 provincial election but was re-elected by about 1,000 votes.
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Leonard Evans again defeated Armstrong by 653 votes in 1988, despite a sharp decline in NDP support in the rest of the province.
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Leonard Evans wanted to join with Elijah Harper in denying approval for the Accord in 1990 but declined so as not to detract from the issue of aboriginal rights.
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Leonard Evans served as NDP Finance critic from 1988 to 1999.
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Leonard Evans did not seek re-election in the 1999 Manitoba general election; Drew Caldwell retained Brandon East for the NDP.
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In 2007, Leonard Evans was elected as president of the Association of Former Manitoba MLAs.
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Leonard Evans died on January 2,2016, at the age of 86 after suffering a heart attack in the previous week.