Stan Struthers (born 1959) is a

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 ...

politician and a former 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 ...

for the New Democratic Party (NDP). He served in the legislature from his election in 1995 until his retirement in 2016, holding various cabinet positions in the governments of

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 ...

and

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government of ...

during his time in office. In February 2018, he apologized after five former colleagues brought allegations of inappropriate touching over many years.

Background

Born in

Swan River, Manitoba Swan River is a town in Manitoba, Canada. It is surrounded by the Municipality of Swan Valley West in the Swan River Valley region. According to the 2021 Canadian Census, Swan River had a population of 4,049, making it Manitoba's 18th largest i ...

, Struthers graduated from Swan Valley Regional Secondary School in 1977, and later received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees from Brandon University, and his Master's of Education from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Norway House Norway House is a population centre of over 5,000 people, some north of Lake Winnipeg, on the bank of the eastern channel of Nelson River, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The population centre shares the name ''Norway House'' with the north ...

, then became principal at Rorketon Collegiate and later taught at the Winnipegosis High School.

Political career

Struthers was first elected to the Manitoba Legislature in the 1995 provincial election as the member for Dauphin. He was re-elected as the MLA for the redistributed Dauphin—Roblin riding in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

and 2003. In his first term, he served as the NDP's Natural Resources Critic and Deputy Agriculture Critic. After the NDP formed government, Struthers served as the legislative assistant to the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

, Dave Chomiak. Premier

appointed Struthers as Minister of Conservation on November 4, 2003. On November 3, 2009, Premier

appointed Struthers as Minister of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. In 1995, Struthers supported

Lorne Nystrom Lorne Edmund Nystrom, (born April 26, 1946) is a Canadian politician and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2004. He is a member of the New Democratic Party. Nystrom has been a prominent figu ...

's campaign for the leadership of the federal New Democratic Party. In 2003, he supported

Bill Blaikie William Alexander Blaikie (June 19, 1951 – September 24, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings in the House of Commons of Canad ...

. He was re-elected in the 2007 and 2011 elections. Struthers resigned his cabinet position on November 3, 2014 along with Jennifer Howard,

Theresa Oswald Theresa Oswald is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2003 to 2016 and a cabinet minister from 2004 until she stepped down in 2014 to unsuccessfully challenge P ...

Erin Selby Erin Selby is a politician and former TV personality in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Selby earned a bachelor's degree in communications studies from Concordia University. She previously co-hosted ''Breakfast Television'' on Citytv Winnipeg alo ...

, and

Andrew Swan Andrew James Swan (born August 9, 1968) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2004 to 2019. He was first elected in a 2004 by-election, replacing MaryAnn Mihychuk, who resigned to run for ...

, due to concerns about Premier Selinger's leadership. He remained an NDP MLA after resignation from cabinet. He did not seek re-election in Dauphin in the 2016 general election. In February 2018, in association with the global

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

, several women came forward with allegations that Stan Struthers sexually harassed and inappropriately touched several of his staff over many years while a member of the Legislative Assembly. During these years, Struthers' staff often referred to him as "Minister Tickles" behind his back. Party officials received at least three complaints about Struthers' tickling and harassment between 2010 and 2015 but no formal investigations took place. Struthers issued an apology for his behaviour in February 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Struthers, Stan New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs University of Manitoba alumni 1959 births Living people Finance ministers of Manitoba Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba People from Swan River, Manitoba 21st-century Canadian politicians