Winnipeg Free Press: Local author wins Dafoe book prize
October 15, 2025 —
Winnipeg author and historian Dr. Gerald Friesen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of History has won the 2025 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize for his biography The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman. Published by University of Manitoba Press in April 2024, Friesen’s book chronicles the life of Manitoba’s first Indigenous premier, who served from 1878-87, and the impact he had on the province at a pivotal time of growth.
To read the entire article, please visit Winnipeg Free Press.





