John Muirhead was a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 from 1922 to 1936.

Muirhead was born in Clinton

Clinton, Ontario

Clinton is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the municipality of Central Huron. Established in 1831, Clinton first began when Jonas Gibbings, Peter and Stephen Vanderburg cleared out a small area to start. Clinton started to grow in 1844 when William Rattenbury laid out...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, and educated at public schools. He worked as a farmer, and served as a school trustee and municipal assessor.

He was first elected to the Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 legislature in the 1922 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1922

Manitoba's general election of July 18, 1922 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.As in the previous election of 1920, the city of Winnipeg elected ten members by the single transferable ballot...

 as a candidate of the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), defeating Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...

 incumbent Reuben Waugh

Reuben Waugh

Reuben J. Waugh was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1922 as a member of the Conservative Party...

 by 137 votes in the Norfolk constituency. The UFM unexpectedly won a majority of seats in this election, and formed government as the Progressive Party

Progressive Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba, an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I...

. Muirhead served as a backbench supporter of John Bracken

John Bracken

John Bracken, PC was an agronomist, the 11th Premier of Manitoba and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ....

's government throughout his time in the legislature.

He was returned in the 1927 election

Manitoba general election, 1927

Manitoba's general election of 28 June 1927 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This was the first election in Manitoba history to elect members through a single transferable ballot in all constituencies...

, defeating Waugh by thirty-four votes in a rematch from the 1922 contest. He defeated Waugh a third time in the 1932 election

Manitoba general election, 1932

Manitoba's general election of June 16, 1932 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This was the second election in Manitoba where the single transferable ballot was used in all electoral divisions...

, by 236 votes.

He was defeated in the 1936 election

Manitoba general election, 1936

Manitoba's general election of July 27, 1936 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The was the second election in Manitoba after the formation of a Liberal-Progressive alliance in 1932...

, losing to Conservative John Lawrie

John Lawrie

John Polworth Lawrie was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1936 to 1949. Originally elected as a Conservative, he sat as a Progressive Conservative after the party changed its name.Lawrie was educated in Edinburgh, and came to Canada in 1893...

 by eighty-two votes. He sought a return to the legislature in the 1941 election

Manitoba general election, 1941

Manitoba's general election of April 22, 1941 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election was held shortly after the formation of a coalition government in December 1940...

, but lost to Lawrie by forty-four votes.