Dufferin Roblin - As Premier

As Premier

Under Roblin's leadership, the Tories won a minority government in 1958. Roblin himself was elected for the new single-member constituency of Wolseley, located in the centre of Winnipeg. His government quickly enacted a series of progressive reforms, which were supported by the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. Roblin was thereby able to build up a successful legislative record, and won the support of many centre-left voters who were previously uncommitted. His government lost a parliamentary vote of confidence in 1959, but was re-elected with majority status (36 of 57 seats) in the ensuing election later in the year.

Roblin's government upgraded highways, created parks, and built the Red River Floodway around Winnipeg, popularly known as "Duff's Ditch". It reintroduced French language instruction in schools, modernized hospitals, expanded social spending and strengthened social welfare programs. It also improved postsecondary education, and promoted urban development by consolidating the various municipalities in the Winnipeg area into a single metropolitan entity. In the field of primary education, Roblin's ministry brought Manitoba's system of one-room schoolhouses into the modern era by building consolidated schools. The Progressive Conservatives were re-elected with landslide mandates in the 1962 and 1966 elections, and Roblin never faced any serious competition in his own riding.

Roblin resigned in 1967 to run for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party at its 1967 leadership convention. He ran a strong campaign, but placed second to Nova Scotia Premier Robert Stanfield.

Roblin was a candidate in Winnipeg South Centre for the 1968 federal election, but lost to Liberal E.B. Osler by over 10,000 votes. Roblin was hurt by an unpopular provincial sales tax introduced by his government, as well as the more general "Trudeaumania" phenomenon. After the election, he was named as vice-president of Canadian Pacific Investments. In 1970, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.