Lawyer, community activist.
Born at St. Boniface on 3 March 1921, son of Jean Hyslop Cowie (c1892-1977) and George Campbell MacLean, he served in the Second World War, earning the Military Cross for gallantry in action. He was decorated at the front by Field Marshall Montgomery and went on to attain the rank of Major. In 1950 he graduated with a law degree from the University of Manitoba and eventually became a co-founder and senior partner in the law firm Newman, MacLean and Associates. In addition to a busy general practice he spent some 25 years as municipal solicitor for the City of St. Vital and the City of Transcona prior to their amalgamation with the City of Winnipeg, and was solicitor for the City of Steinbach for many years.
He was heavily involved in labour management relations and served as Chairman of the Labour Management Review Committee. Besides being a labour arbitrator, he served as sole Arbitrator under the Northern Flood Agreement. He saw confrontation as running counter to good labour relations and strove to find solutions acceptable to all. He was actively involved with numerous service groups and organizations. He served as President of the Progressive Conservative Association of Manitoba, President of the St. Boniface Norwood Kinsman Club, President of the Assiniboia Downs Turf Club, President of the Manitoba Horseman's Association, Chairman of Rainbow Stage, Chairman of the St. Boniface Hospital Research Foundation, Vice-Chair of St. Boniface General Hospital, Events Chair for the visit of Pope John Paul II, Chair of The Forks Renewal Corporation, a director on the boards of the Manitoba Cancer and Research Foundation and the Manitoba Tourist and Convention Association, and Chairman of the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation. He was a member of the Khartum Shriners, Keystone Masonic Lodge, and Norwood Legion.
Among the honours bestowed upon him were his appointment as Queen’s Counsel (1962), a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1981), an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Winnipeg (1989), Distinguished Service Award from the Manitoba Bar Association, Distinguished Service Award from the University of Manitoba, Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), and induction into the Order of Canada (1987) and the Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame (1989).
He died in Winnipeg on 22 March 2008.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 29 March 2008.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 September 2024
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