Career
Born on the family farm near Rapid City, Manitoba, Blake served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a navigator from 1943 to 1945, and was in the Sixth Forward Regiment of the Royal Canadian Engineers from 1948 to 1964. He worked for the Royal Bank of Canada, retiring in 1988. Blake was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election on November 15, 1971, replacing former Progressive Conservative Premier Walter Weir in the rural riding of Minnedosa.
He was later re-elected in the provincial elections of 1973, 1977, 1981 and 1986, usually by about the same margin as in his initial victory.
