Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian former politician from Manitoba who served as the 19th premier of Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from 1988 to 1999.
Early life
Gary Albert Filmon was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to working-class parents, His Romanian father anglicized the family name from Filimon to Filmon when he emigrated westward to Canada.
Filmon was educated at the University of Manitoba and subsequently worked as a civil engineer.
Political career
Municipal politics
Filmon entered public life in 1975, being elected to the Winnipeg City Council; following the retirement of Paule Gauthier.
Filmon has also worked as a business consultant since his retirement from office. In 2003, he was commissioned by the government of British Columbia to undertake a survey of forest fires in that province. On June 22, 2005, at the Annual General Meeting of the Exchange Industrial Income Fund (EIF.UN-X), Filmon was elected as the chairman of the board of trustees for the ensuing year. Filmon sat on the board of directors of Manitoba's public telephone utility, MTS, from 2003 until his mandatory retirement in 2015.
In February 2006, Filmon was considered to replace Frank McKenna as Canadian Ambassador to the United States. In the end, Michael Wilson was appointed to this post.
In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to public office and to the province of Manitoba, as well as for his continuing leadership on numerous provincial and national boards, committees and organizations".
He is married to Janice Filmon, who was lieutenant governor of Manitoba from 2015 to 2022. For the duration of his spouse's term in that office, Gary Filmon was styled "His Honour".