Born at Treherne on 23 June 1927, son of James Percival Smith, he was raised on the family farm until he came to northern Manitoba in 1948, paddling a canoe from Norway House to Cross Lake. He became fluent in the Cree language, working for the Hudson's Bay Company and as a cook at a camp on the Whiskey Jack Portage, south of Cross Lake. He later worked as a forester, conservation officer, and fire prevention officer for the Department of Northern Affairs. Elected to the House of Common, representing the Church constituency, at the 1974 federal general election, he served a single term before being defeated in 1979. Described as a “renowned prankster”, he once tried to enter Parliament in a Santa Claus suit to distribute gifts.
He was married twice, first to ? with whom he had two daughters and two sons. On 18 July 1964, he married schoolteacher Juanita Anne Pollock (1938-2011) of Shoal Lake at the Wasagaming Chapel and they had a daughter and a son. In recognition of his community service, he received a Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977). He died suddenly at Thompson on 24 April 1988.
“Smith - Pollock,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 June 1964, page 14.
“Former Churchill MP dies” by Bob Lowery, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 April 1988, page 2.
Obituary [Juanita Anne Smith], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 August 2011.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 29 September 2024
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