30 Facts About Thomas Greenway

Thomas Greenway was a Canadian politician, merchant and farmer.

Thomas Greenway served as the seventh premier of Manitoba from 1888 to 1900.

Thomas Greenway's eldest child John Wesley Greenway was born on 27 August 1861.

Thomas Greenway moved his family west in 1878 to a 1000-acre stead in Manitoba.

Thomas Greenway began his political career in Ontario, contesting Huron South for the Conservative Party in 1872.

Thomas Greenway narrowly lost to Liberal candidate Malcolm Colin Cameron, and suffered the same result in 1874.

Cameron's 1874 victory was overturned for illegal campaign activities and Thomas Greenway was elected unopposed the following year.

Thomas Greenway entered parliament as an "Independent Conservative", in opposition to Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal government.

Thomas Greenway opposed protectionism, and in 1876 voted for the budget of Liberal Finance Minister Richard John Cartwright.

Thomas Greenway moved to Manitoba in 1879, having acquired a large tract of land in the province's southwestern corner.

Thomas Greenway again referred to himself as an "Independent Conservative", and sought to represent his constituents in the manner of an independent country politician; however, he soon became known as a leading opponent of John Norquay's government.

When Prime Minister John A Macdonald disallowed Manitoba's local railway legislation in 1882, Greenway formed an opposition group known as the Provincial Rights Party, which ran 15 candidates in the provincial election of 1883.

Thomas Greenway had to fend off a personal challenge from premier Norquay, who ran as a candidate in Mountain as well as his own riding of St Andrew's.

When his successor David Howard Harrison proved unable to command a parliamentary majority, Thomas Greenway was asked by the Lieutenant Governor to form a new administration in January 1888.

Thomas Greenway was extremely fortunate, in this sense, that his term began just as the Canadian Pacific Railway voluntarily ended its provincial monopoly over rail travel, subject to hefty compensation from the federal government.

Thomas Greenway rode a wave of popular support to a landslide election victory in the 1888 campaign, taking 33 seats against 5 for the Conservatives.

Thomas Greenway's administration mishandled negotiations for a new connection to the United States, and the CPR's continued to dominate the region.

Thomas Greenway sought to appeal to these voters in 1890 by abolishing the dual system and setting up a single Department of Education.

Also in 1890, Thomas Greenway's Liberals enacted legislation to unilaterally abolish the province's obligation to ensure all its law were bilingual, doing away with French-language legislation.

In 1984, the federal Government referred the question to the Supreme Court of Canada, which held Thomas Greenway's actions had been unconstitutional.

Thomas Greenway's government was re-elected in the 1892 election, winning 28 seats to approximately 12 for the opposition.

Thomas Greenway personally defeated Rogers for the second time in Mountain.

Thomas Greenway's legislation brought about a complex series of legal cases, as well as threats of disallowance from various levels of government.

Thomas Greenway responded by calling another election and again presented himself as the champion of provincial rights against federal intrusion.

Many voters were apprehensive about recent East European immigration into the province, and were offended by even the minor concessions which Thomas Greenway had made on the education question; the Conservative Party was able to tap into this xenophobia, and won 22 seats out of 40.

Thomas Greenway reluctantly returned to the leadership of the opposition, and sought a patronage appointment to cap off his career.

Thomas Greenway returned to federal politics in 1904, winning election for the Manitoba riding of Lisgar.

Thomas Greenway remained a controversial figure for much of the twentieth century.

Since the rise of official bilingualism in the 1960s, Thomas Greenway's reputation has fallen somewhat.

Notwithstanding this, Thomas Greenway was certainly responsible for bringing a mature party system into Manitoba politics.