Derek James Walding (May 9, 1937 – April 23, 2007) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1971 to 1988 and served as speaker of the assembly from 1982 to 1986. Walding was a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP). In 1988, he brought down the NDP government of Howard Pawley by voting against his party's budget. That was the first time in Canadian history that a majority government was defeated by a vote of one of its own party members. Early life and career Walding was born at Rushden, Northamptonshire, England, and was educated at Wellingborough Grammar School. He spent three years with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, including a stint in West Berlin. He moved to Canada in 1961 and worked in Winnipeg as a dispensing optician and contact lens fitter. Walding had supported the Labour Party in Britain. In 1963, joined the similar New Democratic Party in Canada and served on the party's provincial executive in the 1960s. Political career Walding first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1969 provincial election. He initially sought the NDP nomination in the northeastern Winnipeg division of Radisson, but he lost to Harry Shafransky. He was later recruited as the party's candidate for the nearby division of St. Vital, and lost to Progressive Conservative candidate Jack Hardy by only 23 votes. Hardy resigned from the legislature in February 1971, and Walding was nominated as the NDP candidate for the by-election to succeed him. He was narrowly elected, defeating Liberal candidate Dan Kennedy by 295 votes. The result, along with another by-election win on the same day, gave Premier Edward Schreyer a stable majority government in the provincial legislature. Walding served as a backbench supporter of the Schreyer government and developed a strong reputation for constituency work. He also chaired the private bills committee of the legislature and gave up his practice as an optician. Walding voted against Schreyer's decision to extend public funding to denominational schools in a free vote of the legislature. He faced a serious challenge from Kennedy in the 1973 election but won by 105 votes. The New Democrats were defeated in the 1977 provincial election although Walding was personally re-elected with an increased plurality. After Schreyer's appointment as Governor General of Canada in 1979, Walding endorsed Sidney Green in his unsuccessful bid to become