# 15th Manitoba Legislature

The members of the 15th Manitoba Legislature were elected in the Manitoba general election held in August 1915. The legislature sat from January 6, 1916, to March 27, 1920.
The Liberal Party led by Tobias Norris formed the government.
Albert Prefontaine of the Conservatives was Leader of the Opposition.
On January 16, 1916, a bill was passed to amend the Manitoba Election Act to grant women the right to vote. Manitoba became the first Canadian province where women were allowed to vote and hold office.
In a referendum held on March 13, 1916, the province's voters supported prohibition. On June 1, the Manitoba Temperance Act came into effect, which banned the sale of liquor in the province, except by pharmacists for medical purposes. However, bringing alcohol into the province for personal use or for wholesale outside the province was still legal.
Also in 1916, the Workers Compensation Act was passed, which established the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. The act established an employer-funded compensation system for work-related injuries or illness and, in exchange, employers were granted protection against lawsuits by workers for these occurrences.
In 1918, a Minimum Wage Act was passed. Manitoba and British Columbia were the first provinces in Canada to introduce minimum wage legislation. In 1921, the minimum hourly wage in Manitoba was $0.25. Up until 1931, the minimum wage only applied to female workers.
James Bryson Baird served as speaker for the assembly.
There were five sessions of the 15th Legislature:
| Session | Start | End |
| 1st | January 6, 1916 | April 1, 1916 |
| 2nd | January 11, 1917 | March 9, 1917 |
| 3rd | January 17, 1918 | March 6, 1918 |
| 4th | January 21, 1919 | March 14, 1919 |
| 5th | January 22, 1920 | March 27, 1920 |
Douglas Colin Cameron was Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba until August 3, 1916, when James Albert Manning Aikins became lieutenant governor.

## Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1915:
| Member | Electoral district | Party | First elected / previously elected |
| John Williams | Arthur | Liberal | 1907, 1914 |
| John W. Wilton | Assiniboia | Liberal | 1915 |
| William Robertson Wood | Beautiful Plains | Liberal | 1915 |
| George Malcolm | Birtle | Liberal | 1909 |
| Stephen Emmett Clement | Brandon City | Liberal | 1915 |
| Albert Prefontaine | Carillon | Conservative | 1903, 1915 |
| Andrew Watson Myles | Cypress | Liberal | 1915 |
| William Harrington | Dauphin | Liberal | 1915 |
| Robert Stirton Thornton | Deloraine | Liberal | 1907, 1914 |
| Edward August | Dufferin | Liberal | 1915 |
| Thomas Glendenning Hamilton | Elmwood | Liberal | 1915 |
| John David Baskerville | Emerson | Liberal | 1915 |
| William Findlater | Gilbert Plains | Liberal | 1915 |
| Taras Ferley | Gimli | Liberal | 1915 |
| James William Armstrong | Gladstone | Liberal | 1907 |
| James Breakey | Glenwood | Liberal | 1914 |
| John Henry McConnell | Hamiota | Liberal | 1914 |
| Aimé Bénard | Iberville | Conservative | 1907 |
| Arthur Boivin | Iberville | Conservative | 1917 |
| George Prout | Kildonan and St. Andrews | Liberal | 1915 |
| Samuel Hayden | Killarney | Liberal | 1915 |
| Charles Duncan McPherson | Lakeside | Liberal | 1910, 1915 |
| Tobias Norris | Lansdowne | Liberal | 1896, 1907 |
| Philippe Talbot | La Verendrye | Liberal | 1915 |
| George Thomas Armstrong | Manitou | Liberal | 1915 |
| George Grierson | Minnedosa | Liberal | 1914 |
| Valentine Winkler | Morden and Rhineland | Liberal | 1892 |
| Jacques Parent | Morris | Conservative | 1914 |
| James Bryson Baird | Mountain | Liberal | 1907 |
| John Graham | Norfolk | Liberal | 1914 |
| Ewan McPherson | Portage la Prairie | Liberal | 1914 |
| Frederic Newton | Roblin | Conservative | 1911 |
| William James Westwood | Roblin | Independent Liberal | 1917 |
| Arthur Lobb | Rockwood | Liberal | 1915 |
| John Morrison | Rupertsland | Liberal | 1916 |
| William Wilber Wilfred Wilson | Russell | Liberal | 1915 |
| Joseph Dumas | St. Boniface | Liberal | 1915 |
| Donald A. Ross | St. Clements | Liberal | 1907 |
| Skuli Sigfusson | St. George | Liberal | 1915 |
| Joseph Hamelin | Ste. Rose | Conservative | 1914 |
| William Henry Sims | Swan River | Liberal | 1914 |
| Edward Brown | The Pas | Liberal | 1915 |
| George William McDonald | Turtle Mountain | Liberal | 1915 |
| George Clingan | Virden | Liberal | 1914 |
| Thomas Herman Johnson | Winnipeg Centre A | Liberal | 1907 |
| Fred Dixon | Winnipeg Centre B | Independent | 1914 |
| Robert Newton Lowery | Winnipeg North A | Liberal | 1915 |
| Richard Rigg | Winnipeg North B | Social Democratic | 1915 |
| Robert Jacob | Winnipeg North B | Liberal | 1918 |
| Albert Hudson | Winnipeg South A | Liberal | 1914 |
| William Parrish | Winnipeg South B | Liberal | 1914 |
Notes:
* ↑ Election held August 25, 1915

## By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:
| Electoral district | Member elected | Affiliation | Election date | Reason |
| Rupertsland | John Morrison | Independent-Liberal | September 16, 1916 | New riding created |
| Iberville | Arthur Boivin | Conservative | November 1, 1917 | A Bénard named to Senate of Canada |
| Roblin | William James Westwood | Independent-Liberal | November 19, 1917 | F Newton resigned seat |
| Killarney | George Grierson | Liberal | November 30, 1917 | G Grierson appointed Minister of Public Works |
| Winnipeg North B | Robert Jacob | Union | January 15, 1918 | R Rigg ran for federal seat |