Derek Johnson

About Derek Johnson

When were you born?

Between 1966 and 1980 (Generation X)

Tell our readers a bit about your professional life. What do you do for a living? If you're an incumbent candidate, what did you do before you entered politics?

I grew up on a 5th generation mixed beef farm in the Interlake, during my early adulthood I worked on the farm as well as sessional construction work, such as road development, drainage systems and pipeline construction. In conjunction, I worked as an underground miner, this has taken me throughout most of Manitoba, Canada and as far away as Indonesia.

I then went back to school and became a financial advisor and branch manager for 9 years before enter into provincial politics in 2016.

What's the highest level of education you've attained?

College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma

How long have you lived in the constituency? If you don't currently live there, what led you to run there instead of where you live?

I have lived in my constituency my entire life, that will be 53 years this fall. I am proud to be from Interlake-Gimli and cannot imagine living anywhere else.

What is the biggest challenge facing your constituency, and how would you address it?

The biggest challenge in Interlake Gimli is labour. We are a very large constituency with a diverse need for employees, I believe it is the governments role to create an environment that attracts and builds great businesses who are able to train, attract and recruit these workers.

If elected, what will be your first priority?

My first priority when elected is to continue building an environment for Interlake-Gimli to thrive rather than survive. Continue reducing taxes which allows more buying power with the same fixed income. This allows all residents of Interlake Gimli to thrive and seniors to maintain their independent living longer.

Who are your role models in politics, and why?

James Bezan, who has represented the Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman constituency in Parliament for over 17 years. He demonstrates warmth, compassion, tenacity, resilience and advocacy. He is an outspoken critic on the issue of Russian aggression in Eastern Europe (Ukraine). He is a strong advocate for our military and has served as the Conservative Shadow Minister for National Defence.

James has also never forgotten from where he came and is humble, funny and approachable, always ready to chat about horses and the goings on in the riding.

Tell us something about yourself that voters might find surprising.

I love a good card game, I actually used the love of cards to learn how to speak the local language of Bahasa in Indonesia when I was a mining there. We played games such a crib but we would only converse in Bahasa to help me learn the language.

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