The Manitoba Social Credit Party ran 43 candidates in the 1953 Manitoba election, two of whom were elected. Some of these candidates are individual biography pages. Information about others may be found here.
The 1953 Manitoba election was determined by instant-runoff voting in most constituencies. Three constituencies (Winnipeg Centre, Winnipeg North and Winnipeg South) returned four members by the single transferable vote (STV), with a 20% quota for election. St. Boniface elected two members by STV, with a 33% quota.
The Social Credit campaign was organized by Orvis A. Kennedy and Peer Paynter, who had been responsible for the British Columbia Social Credit Party's upset victory in that province's 1952 election. While they managed to nominate a large number of candidates in Manitoba, they were unable to repeat their success. The party did not have an official leader.
Eric Bailey was nominated as a Social Credit candidate in Virden, but withdrew before election day.
Florence M. Bloomfield (Assiniboia)
Bloomfield finished fourth out of four candidates with 677 votes (7.83%). The winner was Reginald Wightman of the Liberal-Progressive Party.
W.A. Wyborn (Brandon City)
Wyborn finished third out of three candidates with 1,056 votes (13.83%). The winner was Reginald Lissaman of the Progressive Conservative Party.
K.T. Kroeker (Carillon)
Kroeker was nominated on May 11, 1953. He finished second to Liberal-Progressive candidate Edmond Prefontaine in a two-candidate contest, receiving 1,065 votes (24.52%).
Marcel Philippe (Cypress)
Philippe was a school teacher, and a resident of St. Claude. He had been a supporter of Social Credit for ten years before being nominated for the party. He finished third out of three candidates with 950 votes (24.15%). The winner was Francis Ferg of the Liberal-Progressive Party.
William Bullmore (Dauphin)
Bullmore placed first on the first count with 1,668 votes (32.19%), and was declared elected on transfers. See his biography page for more information.
George Loeppky (Dufferin)
Loeppky was an implement dealer in Carman, and was 26 years old at the time of the election. He was the first Social Credit candidate to be nominated in the leadup to the election. His nomination was a surprise to most present. Loeppky defeated Winkler principal Peter Brown and Homewood farmer Ivan Langtry. Langtry had previously campaigned for the provincial legislature as a candidate of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, and was considered the favoured candidate. Loeppky himself appears to have been surprised by the nomination, and a Winnipeg Free Press report from April 28, 1953, describes him as "slightly bewildered" in delivering his acceptance speech.
In addressing his nominators, Loeppky made the following comments: "I guess I'm not a politician. I want to be a social crediter. I think Social Credit offers something that political parties don't. It's a way of life."
He finished in second place on the first count with 1,329 votes (32.63%), and lost to Liberal-Progressive candidate Walter McDonald on the second count.
Loeppky later ran for the House of Commons of Canada on two occasions, as a candidate of the Social Credit Party of Canada in the Lisgar riding. He finished third of four candidates in the 1963 federal election with 4,099 votes, and third of four again in the 1965 election with 2,711 votes. By this time, Loeppky was describing himself as a fur farmer.
George J. Friesen (Emerson)
Friesen finished third out of three candidates with 220 votes (4.68%). The winner was Independent Liberal-Progressive John Solomon.
Harry Dyck (Ethelbert)
Dyck finished fourth out of four candidates with 225 votes (5.89%). Liberal-Progressive candidate Michael N. Hryhorczuk was declared elected on the first count.
Fred C. Cook (Fairford)
Cook placed second out of four candidates on the first count with 659 votes (29.06%), and lost to Liberal-Progressive candidate James Anderson on the second count.
David Heindrichs (Fisher)
Heindrichs finished fourth out of four candidates with 144 votes (5.51%). Liberal-Progressive candidate Nicholas Bachynsky was elected on the first count.
E.P. Brown (Gilbert Plains)
Brown was a prominent local figure, who had served as Mayor of Gilbert Plains and was a member of the hospital board. He worked as a farm implement dealer, and formerly edited the Gilbert Plains Maple Leaf newspaper. He finished third out of four candidates on the first count with 695 votes (22.18%), and was eliminated on transfers.
E.H. Fitch (Gimli)