Eric Winkler

Eric Winkler
Eric Winkler
Ontario MPP
	In office; 1967–1975
Preceded by	Farquhar Oliver
Succeeded by	Bob McKessock
Constituency	Grey South
Member of Parliament; for Grey—Bruce
	In office; 1957–1967
Preceded by	Walter Harris
Succeeded by	Riding abolished
Personal details
Born	February 13, 1920; Hanover, Ontario
Died	March 18, 1995 (aged 75); Hanover, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Frances Winkler
Children	4
Occupation	Retail merchant
Military service
Allegiance	Canadian
Branch/service	RCAF
Years of service	1940-1946
Rank	Flying officer
Unit	Bomber Command

Eric Alfred Winkler (February 13, 1920 – March 18, 1995) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1957 to 1967 who represented the riding of Grey—Bruce. He was also a member of provincial parliament from 1967 to 1975 who represented the riding of Grey South. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bill Davis.

Background

Born in Hanover, Ontario, he worked in a local furniture factory before joining the RCAF. He served as a flying officer during World War II, flying missions over Europe when he was shot down in 1942. He survived but was held as a prisoner of war until his release in 1945.^[1] When the war ended, he came home and opened Winkler Brothers Menswear. He and his wife Frances raised two sons and two daughters.^[1]

Municipal politics

In 1946, he was elected as an alderman for the city of Hanover and was elected mayor in 1948.^[1]

Federal politics

He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of Grey—Bruce in the 1957 federal election. A Progressive Conservative, he was re-elected in 1958, 1962, 1963, and 1965. From 1963 to 1967, he was the Chief Opposition Whip.

Provincial politics

In 1967, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the riding of Grey South.^[2] When Bill Davis became Premier in March 1971 he named Winkler as Minister of Revenue to his new cabinet.^[3]

He was re-elected during the fall election in 1971.^[4] Early in 1972, he was named Minister of Financial and Commercial Affairs.^[5] In the fall of 1972 a minor cabinet shuffle saw Winkler moved to Chair of Management Board where he stayed for the next three years.^[6]

In the fall election in 1975 he was defeated for by Liberal candidate Bob McKessock by 298 votes.^[7]

Cabinet posts

Cabinet posts (3)
Ontario provincial government of Bill Davis
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Charles MacNaughton	Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet 1972–1975	James Auld
Gordon Carton	Minister of Financial and Commercial Affairs^{[note 2]} 1972 (February–September)	John Clement
John White	Minister of Revenue 1971–1972	Arthur Meen

Later life

He served as a member of the Ontario Racing Commission in the 1980s.^[8] He died at home after a long illness. He was 75.^[1]

References

Notes

^ Riding renamed to Grey in 1974.
^ The ministry was renamed as Consumer and Commercial Relations in April 1972.

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Politician served at three levels: Winkler, Eric". The Globe and Mail. 21 March 1995. p. A16.
^ Canadian Press (18 October 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
^ Manthorpe, Jonathan; Slinger, John (2 March 1971). "Changes in policies promised: Davis priorities to include environment and jobless". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
^ "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. 23 October 1971. p. 10.
^ "The Cabinet for Ontario". The Globe and Mail. 3 February 1972. p. 4.
^ Manthorpe, Jonathan (29 September 1972). "Davis names two as super-ministers, 4 to Cabinet posts". The Globe and Mail. pp. 1, 4.
^ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. 19 September 1975. p. C12.
^ "Veteran Tory Eric Winkler served as MPP and in Ottawa". Toronto Star. 21 March 1995. p. A5.