James Glen Cummings (born April 12, 1944) is a farmer and former politician in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, 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 gen ...

from 1986 to 2007, and was as a cabinet minister in the government of

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is Canadian politician from Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the 19th premier of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999. Political care ...

. The son of James William Cummings and Lillian Grace McDonald, he was born in

Neepawa Neepawa is a town in Manitoba, Canada located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 5. its population was 5,685. Neepawa was incorporated as a town in 1883. It is bordered by the Municipality of North Cypress – Langford and ...

, Manitoba, and was educated at Neepawa Area College. Before entering provincial politics, he was a school board chair and trustee in the Beautiful Plains School Division, and worked as a farmer. He also sat on the executive of the ''Beautiful Plains Agricultural Society'' for twelve years. In 1969, he married Heather Lynne Harvey. In the provincial election of 1986, Cummings was elected as a Progressive Conservative in the rural riding of Ste. Rose, defeating

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...

Gary Anderson by 3735 votes to 3020. The NDP won the election, and Cummings became a member of the parliamentary opposition. The Progressive Conservatives won the provincial election of 1988, and Cummings was re-elected in Ste. Rose by an increased margin (with the Liberals overtaking the NDP for second place). When

was sworn in as Manitoba's Premier on May 9, 1988, Cummings became

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and Minister of Municipal Affairs with responsibility for administration of the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act and the Jobs Fund Act. On April 21, 1989, he was shifted out of Municipal Affairs and was made

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

, while retaining his other positions. Cummings was easily re-elected in the provincial election of 1990, in which the Progressive Conservatives won a majority of seats. He was removed as Deputy Premier on February 5, 1991, while retaining his other positions. In the provincial election of 1995, he defeated NDP candidate John Morrisseau by 3762 votes to 2341. Following a cabinet shuffle on January 6, 1997, Cummings was made Minister of Natural Resources, with responsibility for the Natural Resources Development Act. He retained this position until 1999, when Filmon's Tories were defeated by the NDP under

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 19 October 2009, to 3 March 2016. Doer previously served as the 20th p ...

in a provincial election. Cummings retained his own seat in the 1999 election, defeating NDP candidate Louise Wilson by 3871 votes to 3293. He returned to the opposition benches, and served as his party's family services critic. In 2002, he called for a financial bailout of the Manitoba Métis fishing industry. In the 2003 election, he defeated NDP candidate John Harapiak by over 1400 votes, despite the poor showing of the Progressive Conservative party elsewhere in the province. In the buildup to this election, Cummings was a leading proponent of the PC party's plan to remove education taxes from residences and farmland. He remains a leading voice in the party's parliamentary caucus. In 2004, Cummings endorsed Steven Fletcher for election to the federal

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. He did not run for re-election in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Glen 1944 births Living people Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Deputy premiers of Manitoba People from Neepawa, Manitoba 21st-century Canadian politicians