Jim Penner (September 4, 1939 – January 17, 2004) was a businessman and 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 served in the

Manitoba legislature The Legislature of Manitoba is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the King of Canada in Right of Manitoba, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and the unicameral ...

from 1999 to 2003. Penner was born in

Rosthern Rosthern is a town at the juncture of Highway 11 and Highway 312 in the central area of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between the cities of Prince Albert and Saskatoon. History Mennonite settlers, led by Gerhard Ens, beg ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and moved to

Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eas ...

in 1946 at the age of 7, where his father bought a grocery store. Penner grew the store into ''Penner Foods Limited'', with six locations, a company for which he was President and CEO from 1962 to 1998 (overseeing a business which employed 800 workers). Penner was appointed to

Trinity Western University Trinity Western University (TWU) is a Private university, private Christian liberal arts university with campuses in both Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley and Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia. The sch ...

's Board of Governors in 1981. He was a graduate of Trinity University in Chicago and was awarded an honorary degree in 2001. In 2002 Penner was honoured as the Humanitarian of the Year by the Variety Club of Manitoba. Penner was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the general election of 1999, running as a Progressive Conservative in the rural, southern riding of Steinbach. Penner defeated his nearest opponent by almost 5000 votes, despite the fact that the Progressive Conservatives were defeated provincially. In the Manitoba Legislature, Penner served as opposition critic for Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Finance. He chose not to run for re-election in 2003, having been diagnosed with cancer. Penner died on January 17, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penner, Jim 1939 births 2004 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs People from Rosthern, Saskatchewan People from Steinbach, Manitoba 21st-century Canadian politicians Deaths from cancer in Manitoba