Goertzen gets two months as premier

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/09/2021 (1414 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen will serve as Manitoba’s 23rd premier for the next two months, the Progressive Conservative caucus decided Tuesday in the party’s final hours under the steerage of Brian Pallister.

The PC caucus unanimously chose Goertzen to serve as interim party leader and premier-designate of Manitoba until Oct. 30, when party members will elect a new leader, caucus chair Greg Nesbitt said Tuesday in a prepared statement.

Pallister’s term as premier and PC leader ended yesterday at 8 a.m. Manitoba’s Constitution stipulates that the province must never be without a premier.

At press time, Goertzen was scheduled to be sworn in and make remarks at the legislature.

It’s believed he is the first Mennonite to hold the province’s top job.

Goertzen, 52, was first elected in 2003. He spent the next 13 years in Opposition, rising to justice critic, deputy house leader, house leader, then deputy leader.

In 2016, when the PCs formed government, Goertzen was appointed health minister. Two years later, he was moved to the education portfolio. In January, he became deputy premier and minister of legislative and public affairs.

On Aug. 10, Pallister announced plans to step down as premier and party leader without specifying a departure date. He subsequently revealed the timing of his departure in a weekend interview with the Canadian Press.

On Monday, during a trip to Brandon and the International Peace Garden near Boissevain, Pallister told reporters he will stay on as MLA for Fort Whyte for only a few more weeks.

In a statement issued the same day, Pallister explained he was resigning now “to ensure the election of my successor can continue to take place free of any perception of any influence from the Office of the Premier.”

The legislature is set to resume Oct. 6.

In a statement, Nesbitt thanked Pallister for his public service, saying he “championed historic achievements to re-build the economy while fixing the finances and repairing services across our province.”

Nesbitt said Pallister also lowered taxes, attracted capital investment in agriculture and other sectors, streamlined inter-provincial trade, and lobbied Ottawa for more health-care funding.

The statement made no mention of Bill 64, a controversial education reform package that all three PC leadership contenders have vowed to scrap or scale down.