A one-time insurance man is in the running to be premier of Manitoba with yesterday morning’s announcement of the calling of the provincial election.
Brian Pallister, leader of the opposing
Progressive Conservative Party, in a province ruled by the NDP since 1999, has a storied past, but one episode has served him especially well: the insurance and investment firm he started out of his car. It lasted longer than the gig he had before it – a briefly-held teaching position -- and culminated in a company that grew over the next three decades and left him with the resources to purchase a multi-million dollar 9,000-square-foot Winnipeg mansion. He also put in a stint as chair of the Canadian Insurance Agents Advisory Council.
Pallister has been in politics since his election to the legislature in 1992 and served as a a
cabinet minister in the Filmon government but was catapulted to prominence when he was acclaimed leader of the
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in 2012, a party then reeling from four consecutive losses, and has since earned notoriety for such tactics as selecting candidates for staff jobs by way of on-the-spot essay competitions and other moves that have been compared to reality show
Survivor.
Manitobans head to the polls April 19.
