Barry worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway as head clerk of the superintendent's office in Winnipeg.
At the time, Winnipeg elected ten members via a single transferable ballot.
The Conservatives lost this election to the Liberal-Progressives, and Barry served on the opposition benches for the next four years.
[1] In 1940, the Conservatives joined with the Liberal-Progressives and two other parties in a wartime coalition government.
Running for re-election in the 1941 election, Barry finished ninth on the first count but fared poorly on transfers.