Mervin C. Tweed, MP (born August 6, 1955 in Medora, Manitoba) is a retired 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 represented

Brandon—Souris Brandon—Souris is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. Demographics :''According to the Canada 2011 Census'' Ethnic groups: 83.4% White, 9.8% Aboriginal, ...

in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to August 31, 2013. Prior to that 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 1995 to 2004, representing the constituency of Turtle Mountain. He was the president of Omnitrax, the American rail company responsible for the Churchill rail line. Tweed was born in Medora, Manitoba, and was educated at Brandon University. He operated a used car dealership for seventeen years, and was for a time an executive member of the

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...

and Area Recreation Committee.

Municipal politician

Tweed began his political career in municipal politics, serving as a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

in the rural municipality of Brenda for five years, and as deputy reeve for three. Tweed returned to municipal politics in 2021 after being elected mayor of the

Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain Killarney-Turtle Mountain is a rural municipality (RM) located in the Westman Region of Manitoba, Canada. It is located to the immediate north of the Canada–United States border opposite Rollete and Towner Counties, North Dakota. History T ...

Provincial politician (1995-2004)

In 1995, he was elected to the Manitoba legislature as a Progressive Conservative in Turtle Mountain, a safe seat for the party. He served as a parliamentary assistant to a variety of ministers in the government of Premier

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 ...

before being appointed Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism with responsibility for the

Development Corporation Act Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

on February 5, 1999. Tweed was easily re-elected in the 1999 provincial election, although the Progressive Conservatives were defeated at the provincial level by the New Democratic Party 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 ...

. Tweed resigned his cabinet portfolio with the rest of the Filmon ministry. Despite the NDP's landmark election win of 2003, Tweed was again re-elected in Turtle Mountain without difficulty, receiving 3,956 votes against 1,893 for New Democrat Lonnie Patterson.

Federal politician (2004-2013)

When federal

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Rick Borotsik Rick Borotsik (born September 8, 1950) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as Mayor of Brandon from 1989 to 1997, was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manito ...

(

), announced his retirement in 2004, Tweed resigned his provincial seat and won the Conservative nomination for the riding. He received 18,209 votes in the general election, against 8,522 for

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Murray Downing. Following the 2004 election, Tweed was named opposition critic for Western Economic Diversification by Conservative leader Stephen Harper. In April 2006, Tweed was elected chairperson of House of Commons of Canada's Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, a post he held until September 25, 2012 when he was elected chairperson of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food. His resignation took effect on August 31, 2013. Tweed went on to work as President of

OmniTRAX OmniTRAX, Inc. is a transportation and transportation infrastructure holding company based in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. It primarily owns or operates railroads, with a network of 25 regional and shortline railroads in 12 U.S. state ...

Canada,cbc.ca: "Manitoba MP quits, takes top job at rail company. Tory MP second in matter of weeks to resign in Manitoba" 12 Aug 2013
/ref> which operates, amongst others, the

Port of Churchill The Port of Churchill is a privately-owned port on Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Routes from the port connect to the North Atlantic through the Hudson Strait. , the port had four deep-sea berths capable of handling Panamax-size vesse ...

Electoral record

References

External links

Merv Tweed

How'd They Vote?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweed, Merv 1955 births Brandon University alumni Conservative Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba People from Westman Region, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 21st-century Canadian politicians