Cliff Graydon is a farmer and former politician in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

from 2007 to 2019, representing the electoral division of Emerson. Graydon was born in Arnaud, Manitoba and has farmed for 30 years, growing grain and raising cattle. Before entering politics, Graydon was a founding member of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association and served on its board of directors. He has also served as a member of the Stuartburn Piney Agricultural Development Association and the Prairies East Sustainable Agricultural Initiative.

Political career

After being elected in 2007, Graydon held various critic portfolios during his time in

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, including: MPI; Liquor Control; Lotteries; Gaming; Agriculture; Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade; and Healthy Living and Seniors. Graydon was Progressive Conservative caucus whip from 2016 to 2017. Graydon underwent sensitivity training in early 2018 after posting on

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that asylum seekers in Canada are a "drain on society." He had previously retweeted a post about

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

which asked "How can any woman vote for that SICK/RETARDED/TRAITOR?" On October 22, 2018, Graydon was expelled from caucus following allegations of sexual harassment by two legislative staffers. Before his expulsion, Graydon had indicated he would take a medical leave of absence from the legislature, not seek reelection in the next provincial election, and undergo further sensitivity training. Graydon held a news conference on November 8, 2018 in which he denied all allegations, stating: "I admit I’m guilty of having a bad sense of humour and sincerely apologize to those who have been offended by my inconsiderate jokes. I have grown up in a different era and realize some people today are much more sensitive to inappropriate humour." Graydon was subsequently accused of having groped and propositioned a party staffer for sex in September, 2017. In July 2019 Graydon declared he would contest the upcoming provincial election as an Independent in the new constituency of Borderland. The riding was created by the 2018 provincial redistribution out of parts of Emerson and

Morden-Winkler Morden-Winkler is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 2008 and was created out of part of Pembina. The riding includes the cities of Winkler and Morden Morden is a dist ...

. He finished in third place behind PC candidate

Josh Guenter Josh Guenter (born April 22, 1994) is a Canadian politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, representing the electoral division of Borderland. He was elected in the 2019 Manitoba general election as a member of the Progressi ...

Electoral results

- 2007 results

References

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Living people People from Eastman Region, Manitoba Farmers from Manitoba 21st-century Canadian politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Manitoba-politician-stub