William Morton

Who was William Morton?

William Morton was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1927 to 1958, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of John Bracken, Stuart Garson and Douglas Campbell. His father, Thomas Lewis Morton, was a member of the assembly from 1888 to 1903.

Morton was educated at St. John's College in Winnipeg, and was prominent in athletics, notably football, hockey and curling. He was a councillor in the municipality of Westbourne from 1913 to 1917, and was its reeve from 1917 to 1927.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1927 provincial election as a Progressive, in the rural constituency of Gladstone. He was returned as a Liberal-Progressive in the 1932 election, after the two parties formed an alliance.

Re-elected again in the 1936 election, Morton was promoted to cabinet on November 22, 1939 as Municipal Commissioner in John Bracken's government. On February 14, 1944, he was given additional cabinet responsibilities as Minister under the Manitoba Telephone Act.

When Douglas Campbell became Premier of Manitoba on December 14, 1948, he relieved Morton of the Municipal Affairs portfolio, but kept him as minister under the Manitoba Telephone Act, Minister under the Manitoba Power Commission Act, and Minister of Public Utilities under the Municipal and Public Utility Board Act. His title was later simplified to Minister of Public Works and Minister of Public Utilities. In these portfolios, Morton continued Campbell's work in providing electricity to the rural areas of the province.