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Edward Richard Schreyer
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MLA (1958-1959), MLA (1959-1962), MLA (1962-1966), MP (1966-1968), MP (1968-1969), MLA (1969-1973), Premier of Manitoba (1969-1977), MLA (1973-1977), MLA (1977-1978).
Born at Beausejour on 21 December 1935, one of six children of John Schreyer (1897-1977) and Elizabeth Gottfried, brother of George B. Schreyer, he was educated at Cromwell School, Beausejour Collegiate, United College, St. John’s College, and the University of Manitoba.
Elected to the Manitoba Legislature in the 1958 provincial general election, he was re-elected in 1959 and 1962. He jumped to federal politics, being elected at the 1965 and 1968 general elections, then returned to provincial politics, elected in 1969 and re-elected in 1973 and 1977. He served as Premier of Manitoba (1969-1977) and was also Minister of Finance (1972-1973, 1975-1976). He later served as Governor General of Canada (1979-1984). He was a New Democratic candidate in the 2006 federal general election but was defeated by Conservative candidate James Bezan.
In recognition of his community service, he received a Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (2022), and King Charles III Coronation Medal (2024), and a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1989). He was inducted into the Order of Canada (1979) and Order of Manitoba (2000). He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manitoba (1979). He was Chancellor of Brandon University from 2002 to 2008. He is commemorated by Edward Schreyer School at Beausejour.
His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:
Review: Christopher Dunn, The Institutional Cabinet: Governing the Western Provinces
Manitoba History, Number 30, Autumn 1995
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Edward Schreyer School (85 Fifth Street South, Beausejour)
“Edward Schreyer, 1969-1977 ” by Gregory Marchildon and Ken Rasmussen in Manitoba Premiers of the 19th and 20th Centuries, edited by Barry Ferguson and Robert Wardhaugh, Canadian Plains Research Centre, 2010.
“Future cabinet ministers, their past and present,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 July 1969, page 26.
“Schreyer funeral Thursday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 September 1977, page 3.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 18 December 2024
