Dufferin Roblin - As MLA of Winnipeg South

As MLA of Winnipeg South

There were opponents of the coalition in both in the Liberal and Conservative ranks. Roblin was a part of the latter group, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in 1949 as an "Independent Progressive Conservative" opposing the coalition. Running in the multi-member riding of Winnipeg South, he finished well ahead of the official Progressive Conservative candidate, and soon emerged as the leading voice for anti-coalition Tories in the province.

Willis resigned as a cabinet minister in August 1950, and Progressive Conservative delegates overwhelmingly voted to leave the coalition at their annual convention later in the year. Some party members tried to convince Roblin to stand against Willis for the leadership, but he declined.

Roblin was re-elected for Winnipeg South in 1953, but the Progressive Conservative Party as a whole fared poorly, winning only 12 seats out of 57. Willis was blamed for the party's loss, and another effort was made to draft Roblin as leader.

When Willis called a leadership convention for 1954, Roblin quickly declared himself as a candidate. He built up a strong organization throughout the province, and was able to defeat Willis on the second ballot. Somewhat counter-intuitively, most of Roblin's support came from rural delegates. For the next four years, Roblin was involved in the arduous task of rebuilding a strong Progressive Conservative network throughout the province.

Ideologically, Roblin was a Red Tory. He opposed the caution and 'small-government' ideology of Liberal-Progressive Premier Douglas Campbell, and pledged to expand government services if elected. He was also fairly liberal on most social issues. While not a socialist, Roblin was unquestionably to the "left" of Campbell's Liberals (a point that he would later acknowledge in his memoirs).