Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government of his immediate predecessor, Gary Doer. Selinger was the member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for St. Boniface from 1999 until his resignation in early 2018. He came to Manitoba from Saskatchewan as a child with his single mother, who ran a small clothing store in Winnipeg.
Selinger received a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Manitoba, a Master of Public Administration from Queen's University, and a PhD from the London School of Economics.
Before entering politics, he worked as an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba, as a candidate of the alliance in St. Boniface, Some have attributed his loss to his refusal to accept corporate and union donations, which he based on principle.
Post municipal career
Following his failed mayoral bid, Selinger stepped back from politics and returned to teaching at the University of Manitoba.
Provincial politics
Minister of Finance
Selinger was easily elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1999,
Selinger was appointed Minister of Finance, after the 1999 election, On January 17, 2001, he was also given responsibility for the Civil Service. On November 4, 2003, he was relieved of responsibilities for the Liquor Control Act.
On June 28, 2007, Selinger regained responsibility for the administration of the Liquor Control Act and was charged with the administration of The Manitoba Lotteries Corporation Act. He was running against fellow cabinet ministers Steve Ashton and Andrew Swan The leadership convention took place on October 17, 2009. He defeated his leadership rival, Steve Ashton, taking 1,317 votes among delegates, to Ashton's 685. Selinger was sworn in as Premier of Manitoba by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba on October 19, 2009, the same day that Gary Doer was sworn in as Canadian Ambassador to the United States. Due, in part, to the unpopularity of the tax increase, the NDP fell far behind the Progressive Conservatives in public opinion polls and never recovered. In the fall of 2014 several cabinet ministers privately asked Selinger to resign in hopes that the party would recover under a new leader, but he declined. In September 2014, during a caucus retreat, several MLAs openly told Selinger he needed to resign but he refused. and several senior party officials went public with their call for Selinger's resignation. On November 9, Selinger asked the party executive to hold a leadership election during the party's annual convention scheduled for March 6–8, 2015, stating his intention to be a candidate. The party executive subsequently agreed. Theresa Oswald, one of the five rebel ex-ministers, challenged Selinger for the leadership as did Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation Steve Ashton who had not protested against Selinger but who resigned from cabinet to enter leadership contest.
At the March 8, 2015 leadership election, Ashton was eliminated on the first ballot and Selinger prevailed on the second ballot with 50.93% of ballots cast, defeating Oswald by 33 votes.
Selinger's popularity never recovered after his party raised the PST in 2013. By the time the writs were dropped for the 2016 provincial election, the NDP had been well behind the Tories in opinion polling for almost four years. The NDP was heavily defeated, falling to only 14 seats, its smallest seat count in three decades.
After politics
Selinger resigned as party leader following his government's defeat and returned to the backbench. Selinger announced on February 20, 2018, that he was resigning his seat in the legislature effective March 7, 2018. He continues to reside in Winnipeg.
Electoral record
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! colspan="3" | 2009 New Democratic Party of Manitoba leadership election
|-
! style="width: 17em" |Candidate
! style="width: 5em" |Votes
! style="width: 7em" |Percentage
|-
| Greg Selinger
| align="right" | 1,317
| align="right" | 65.75%
|-
| Steve Ashton
| align="right" | 685
| align="right" | 34.20%
|-bgcolor="white"
| align="right" | Spoiled ballots
| align="right" | 1
| align="right" | 0.05%
|-bgcolor="white"
| align="right" | Total
| align="right" | 2,003
| align="right" | 100.00%
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! colspan="3" | 1992 Winnipeg mayoral election
|-
! style="width: 17em" |Candidate
! style="width: 5em" |Votes
! style="width: 7em" |Percentage
|-
| Susan Thompson
| align="right" | 89,743
| align="right" | 39.01%
|-
| Greg Selinger
| align="right" | 75,123
| align="right" | 32.66%
|-
| Dave Brown
| align="right" | 31,859
| align="right" | 13.85%
|-
| Ernie Gilroy
| align="right" | 26,001
| align="right" | 11.30%
|-
| Natalie Pollock
| align="right" | 1,311
| align="right" | 0.57%
|-
| Dan Zyluk
| align="right" | 833
| align="right" | 0.36%
|-
| Darryl Soshycki
| align="right" | 727
| align="right" | 0.32%
|-
| Walter Diawol
| align="right" | 553
| align="right" | 0.24%
|-
| Menardo A. Caneda
| align="right" | 534
| align="right" | 0.23%
|-
| Martin Barnes
| align="right" | 526
| align="right" | 0.23%
|-
| James W. Miller (Pin The Elder)
| align="right" | 500
| align="right" | 0.22%
|-
| Bryan R. Benson
| align="right" | 491
| align="right" | 0.21%
|-
| Bob McGugan
| align="right" | 433
| align="right" | 0.19%
|-
| Charles-Alwyn Scotlend
| align="right" | 421
| align="right" | 0.18%
|-
| Ed Hay
| align="right" | 374
| align="right" | 0.16%
|-
| Aurel Joseph Prefontaine
| align="right" | 348
| align="right" | 0.15%
|-
| Rudolph Parker
| align="right" | 267
| align="right" | 0.12%
|-bgcolor="white"
| align="right" | Total
| align="right" | 230,044
| align="right" | 100.00%
|}
References
External links
- Official New Democratic Party profile