Laurent Desjardins

Laurent Louis "Larry" Desjardins (born March 15, 1923, in St. Boniface, Manitoba – February 7, 2012 in Winnipeg, Manitoba ) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Manitoba legislature for most of the period from 1959 to 1988, and was a cabinet minister under New Democratic Premiers Edward Schreyer and Howard Pawley.

The son of Joseph A. Desjardins and Valentine Desautels, Desjardins was educated at St. Boniface College, St. Paul's College and the Cincinnati College of Embalming. Desjardins played professional football with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was general manager of the St. Boniface Jr. Canadians and was a scout for the Montreal Canadiens. He was inducted into Manitoba’s sports hall of fame in 1990. He served in the Canadian navy during World War II. He worked as a funeral director, and was the President and Managing Director of Chapels, Ltd. He also joined the Knights of Columbus and the Canadian Council of Christian and Jews during the early years of his career. In 1944, he married Bernice McGuire.

Desjardins began his political career at the municipal level, serving as an alderman on the St. Boniface City Council from 1951 to 1954, and also serving on the St. Boniface Hospital Board for a number of years. In the Manitoba general election of 1959, he was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the riding of St. Boniface as a Liberal-Progressive. This was the year of Progressive Conservative Premier Dufferin Roblin's first majority win, and Desjardins joined ten other Liberal-Progressives in the official opposition.

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