John Edward Niel Weibe

Weibe, John Edward Niel

John Edward Niel Weibe (Jack), farmer, politician, lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan (b at Herbert, Sask 31 May 1936). Weibe farmed at Herbert and became an active Liberal under the tutelage of Ross Thatcher, his local MLA and future premier of Saskatchewan. His association with Thatcher led to his appointment as a director of the Sask Power Corp in 1967. Thatcher's Liberals were defeated at the polls in 1971 and he died soon after.

Weibe ran for the Liberals in the by-election to replace Thatcher and was victorious. He was re-elected in 1975 but lost his seat in the general election of 1978, which saw the Liberals fail to win a single seat. Weibe returned to his farm and stayed active with the Liberal Party. Liberal politics were extremely unpopular in the West during this period and PM Trudeau was largely the focus of this discontent. Weibe was one of the few Liberals willing to keep the party alive in his province and worked diligently to effect a resurrection of their provincial fortunes. It was not until 1993 that the Liberals saw some success in Saskatchewan.

Weibe chaired the Federal Liberal campaign in his province that saw 4 Liberals elected to the House of Commons, their first federal electoral success in nearly 20 years. A long-time supporter of Jean Chrétien, Weibe was rewarded for his efforts on behalf of the party with his appointment to succeed Olga Fedoruk as lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan in 1994.