William Lewis Morton (1908-1980) was a noted Canadian historian who specialized in the development of the Canadian west . He was born in Gladstone, Manitoba but won a Rhodes Scholarship and attended Oxford University where he studied history. He returned to Canada first teaching at the University of Manitoba and then at Trent University. Morton was a strong supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party but was very much a Red Tory. He died in Red Deer, Alberta in 1980.

Works:

• Third Crossing: A History of the Town and District of Gladstone in the Province of Manitoba - 1946
• The Progressive Party in Canada - 1950 (Winner of the 1950 Governor General's Award for Nonfiction)
• The London Correspondence Inward from Eden Colvile 1849-1852 - 1956
• Alexander Begg's Red River Journal and Other Papers Relative to the Red River Resistance of 1869-70 - 1956
• Manitoba: A History - 1957
• One University: A History of the University of Manitoba - 1960
• The Canadian Identity - 1961
• The Kingdom of Canada - 1963
• The Critical Years: The Union of British North America, 1857-1973 - 1964
• Manitoba: The Birth of a Province - 1965
• Contexts of Canada's Past: Selected Essays of W.L. Morton - 1980