Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 22nd governor general of Canada from 1979 to 1984. He previously served as the 16th premier of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977.
Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first elected to the province's legislative assembly in 1958. He later moved into federal politics, winning a seat in the House of Commons, but returned to Manitoba in 1969 to become leader of the provincial New Democratic Party (NDP). The party then won that year's provincial election and Schreyer became the 16th premier of Manitoba, aged 33. In 1978 he was appointed Governor General by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, to replace Jules Léger, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Jeanne Sauvé in 1984. As the Queen's representative, he was praised for raising the stature of Ukrainian Canadians. Later, he served as Canada's High Commissioner to Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. He then attempted, without success, to get elected to the House of Commons; he was the first person to run for election in Canada after serving as Governor General.
Early life and youth
Schreyer was born in Beausejour, Manitoba, to Anglophone ethnic German-Austrian Catholic parents John Schreyer and Elizabeth Gottfried; his maternal grandparents were Austrians who emigrated from western Ukraine. Schreyer attended Cromwell Elementary School and Beausejour Collegiate Secondary School, then United College and St. John's College at the University of Manitoba. There, he received a Bachelor of Pedagogy in 1959, a Bachelor of Education in 1962, a Master of Arts in International Relations, and a second Master of Arts in Economics in 1963. From 1962 to 1965, Schreyer served as a professor of International Relations at St. Paul's College.
thumb|left|[[St. John's College, University of Manitoba, where Schreyer obtained four degrees]]
While pursuing his post-graduate degrees, Schreyer married Lily Schultz, with whom he had two daughters, Lisa and Karmel, and two sons, Jason and Toban. He held the riding until resigning in 1965 to run successfully for the House of Commons in Ottawa. He returned to provincial politics in 1969, and was on June 8 elected leader of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP),
Governor General of Canada
On December 28, 1978, Queen Elizabeth II, by commission under the royal sign-manual and Great Seal of Canada, appointed Pierre Trudeau's choice of Schreyer to succeed Jules Léger as the Queen's representative. He was sworn in during a ceremony in the Senate chamber on January 22, 1979, making him the first Governor General from Manitoba, and, at the age of 43, the third youngest ever appointed, after the Marquess of Lorne in 1878 (33 years old), and the Marquess of Lansdowne in 1883 (38 years old). In 1980, he caused controversy when he hesitated to call an election after Prime Minister Joe Clark advised him to do so. Schreyer also later suggested that he might have dissolved parliament at any point through 1981 and 1982, had the Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau tried to impose his constitutional proposals unilaterally.
Schreyer's wish to connect with people in an open, friendly way conflicted with the "stiff, earnest public manner" expected of the Governor General, and he was thus a target of the media. He held those positions until 1988, when he returned to Winnipeg.
On returning to Canada, Schreyer was employed as a national representative of Habitat for Humanity, an honorary director of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, and an honorary advisor to the Canadian Foundation for the Preservation of Chinese Cultural and Historical Treasures. He was also a founding member of the Winnipeg Library Foundation. Starting in 1989, he acted as a guest professor at universities around North America and Europe, lecturing on matters relating to resource geography, energy economics, and environmental impact. and was re-elected to the position in early 2005 for a term that ended on October 31, 2008.
Political return
Schreyer, then 70 years old, ran in the 2006 federal election as the NDP candidate in the riding of Selkirk—Interlake. It was the first time a former Governor General sought election to the Canadian House of Commons; previously, former Lieutenant Governors had been called to the Senate to sit as party members, and some former Governors General who hailed from the United Kingdom returned there to sit with party affiliations in the House of Lords, sometimes even serving in cabinet. Schreyer lost to Conservative incumbent James Bezan, receiving 37% of the vote to Bezan's 49%. Earlier comments Schreyer had made describing homosexuality as an "affliction" were raised by his opponents in the campaign, as the NDP supported same-sex marriage. While campaigning in 2005, Schreyer said he supported same-sex marriage as the existing legislation did not force religious institutions to marry same-sex couples.
Schreyer also waded into the federal parliamentary dispute of 2008-09, in which the opposition parties threatened to revoke their confidence in the sitting prime minister, Stephen Harper. Schreyer said: "Any group that presumes to govern must be willing to face and seek the confidence of Parliament, and it mustn't be evaded and it mustn't be long avoided. I can't put it any more succinctly than that... I must come back to your use of the words, 'to duck a confidence vote'... that must simply not be allowed to happen."
His son, Jason Schreyer, was a Winnipeg city councillor from 2014 until his death in 2025 at the age of 57.
Titles, styles, honours, and arms
Titles
- July 15, 1969 – November 24, 1977: The Honourable Edward Schreyer
- January 22, 1979 – February 18, 1988: His Excellency the Right Honourable Edward Schreyer
- February 18, 1988 – : The Right Honourable Edward Schreyer
Honours
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Ribbon bars of Edward Schreyer
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;Appointments
- January 22, 1979 – May 14, 1984: Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)
- May 14, 1984 – May 8, 2013: Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)
- May 8, 2013 –: Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada (CC)
- January 22, 1979 – May 14, 1984: Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)
- May 14, 1984 – May 8, 2013: Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)
- May 8, 2013 –: Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM)
- May 14, 1984 – : Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ)
- January 22, 1979 – May 14, 1984: Chief Scout of Canada
- 1979 – : Honorary Member of the Royal Military College of Canada Club
- June 3, 1984 – : Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada (PC)
- July 13, 2000 – : Member of the Order of Manitoba (OM)
;Medals
- January 22, 1979: Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD)
- 1967: Canadian Centennial Medal
- 1977: Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
- 1992: Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada
- 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
- 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
;Awards
- 1975: Governor General Vanier Award as an Outstanding Young Canadian of the Year
Honorary military appointments
- January 22, 1979 – May 14, 1984: Colonel of the Governor General's Horse Guards
- January 22, 1979 – May 14, 1984: Colonel of the Governor General's Foot Guards
- January 22, 1979 – May 14, 1984: Colonel of the Canadian Grenadier Guards
Honorific eponyms
- : Edward Schreyer International Student Bursary, Brandon University, Brandon
- : Edward Schreyer Fellowship, University of Toronto, Toronto