Errick Willis

Errick Willis was the son of Canadian politician Richard Gardiner Willis, a member of Manitoba’s Legislative Assembly for nearly a decade. By 1926 Errick possessed a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and a Master’s and Law degree from the University of Manitoba. He worked as a lawyer with the firm Coleman, Sevail and Willis from 1926 through 1933, at which point he gave up law and turned to farming. Shortly before this, however, he participated in the curling demonstration at the 1932 Winter Olympics, where his Manitoba team beat out the competition and finished in first place with Willis as their skip.

Harboring political ambitions as a member of the Conservative Party, Willis’ first attempt at capturing a seat in Canada’s parliament came in 1926, when he was defeated in the race for the seat in the Souris Constituency. Four years later, however, he won the election and served until 1935, when he was ousted from his seat by a margin of only three votes. The following year, however, he was elected the head of the provincial Conservative Party and decided to focus his ambitions at that level, winning election the Manitoba Legislative Assembly in 1936, holding his party leadership until 1954 and his seat until 1960. During this time he held several important positions at the provincial level including Minister of Public Works (1940-1950), Minister of Agriculture (1958-1960), and Deputy Premier (1959-1960). Beginning in January 1960 he served as the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, the first provincial native to do so, and served until September 1965, less than two years before his death.