Kelvin Goertzen (born June 12, 1969) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd
premier of Manitoba
The premier of Manitoba (french: premier ministre du Manitoba) is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council ...
from September to November, 2021. A member of the
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Manitoba) is a centre-right political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is currently the governing party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, after winnin ...
, he is 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 ...
for
Steinbach, first elected in the
2003 provincial election, and was re-elected in
2007,
2011,
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, and most recently in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. Goertzen served as interim leader of the
PC party, from September 1, 2021 to October 30, 2021. He was sworn as
premier on September 1, 2021. Goertzen was succeeded as premier on the afternoon of November 2, 2021, by
Heather Stefanson
Heather Dorothy Stefanson (born May 11, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 24th premier of Manitoba since November 2, 2021. She is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and sits as a member of the Legi ...
who won the
PC leadership election on October 30. Goertzen, upon his swearing-in, selected
Rochelle Squires
Rochelle Squires is a Canadian provincial politician who has served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the riding of Riel since 2016. A member of the Progressive Conservative party, she was first elected in the 2016 Manit ...
as his deputy premier.
Goertzen resumed his role as
Deputy Premier of Manitoba The deputy premier of Manitoba is a Cabinet minister in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The position has existed for several years, but only appears to have become a full-fledged Cabinet portfolio in 1988. Between 2009 and 2011, the position was ...
on November 3, 2021. He currently serves as the Government House Leader, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Minister responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI)
Early life and education
Goertzen was born on June 12, 1969
in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
,
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 ...
but was raised in
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 ...
. He attended public school in Steinbach and graduated high school from the
Steinbach Regional Secondary School
Steinbach Regional Secondary School is a large public high school located in Steinbach, Manitoba, the second largest high school in the province with over 1900
students. The school was built in 1972 and was opened by then premier, Ed Schreyer on ...
in June 1987. Goertzen obtained a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
, majoring in Economics, a
Bachelor of Commerce
A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...
and a
Bachelor of Law each 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.[Mennonite Heritage Village
Mennonite Heritage Village is a museum in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada telling the story of the Russian Mennonites in Canada. The museum contains both an open-air museum open seasonally, and indoor galleries open year-round. Opened in 1967 and ex ...](_blank)
Museum and the Steinbach Association for Community Living. He is a member of the South East Rotary Club.
In June 2007, Goertzen was awarded the "HOPE" medal by the
Lions Club
The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...
Foundation of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario for his community service work helping those less fortunate in Manitoba . In 2012 he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of community service by Governor General of Canada David Johnson.
Political involvement
Goertzen became involved in political activities while attending high school, serving as an early organizer for the
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest ...
. In 1995, Goertzen was hired as an
intern
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gove ...
at the Manitoba Legislature serving with the Progressive Conservative Caucus. Following the internship, he served in the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship and subsequently worked as an Executive Assistant to MLAs
Jim Penner
Jim Penner (September 4, 1939 – January 17, 2004) was a businessman and politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Manitoba legislature from 1999 to 2003.
Penner was born in Rosthern, Saskatchewan and moved to Steinbach, Manitoba
St ...
and
Albert Driedger. Following the 2000 federal election, Goertzen also worked as an advisor to Provencher Member of Parliament
Vic Toews
Victor Toews (; born September 10, 1952) is a Paraguayan-Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a judge of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on ...
and was a key local organizer for Toews in the 2000, 2004 and 2006 federal elections. In 2003, he participated in a public protest against the legalization of
same-sex marriage in Canada
Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively introduced in several provinces by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the ''Civil Marriage Act'' on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, th ...
.
Prior to seeking elected office himself, Goertzen also served as the President of the Steinbach Progressive Conservative Association, as a Regional Director on the Board of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party and as a member of the Management Committee of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party.
Elected office
One week prior to the calling of the 2003 provincial election, Steinbach MLA Jim Penner announced he had been diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer and would not be seeking re-election. After the election was called a short nomination process occurred. Some critics suggested Goertzen's service as local association President gave him an advantage in the short nomination time frame. The sudden events had no impact on the election result, however. Steinbach is one of the Manitoba PCs' safest seats, and Goertzen was elected with over 74% of the popular vote despite the poor showing of PC candidates elsewhere in the province. Goertzen became the youngest MLA ever elected from Steinbach since its creation in 1990, as well as the first Manitoba Legislative Intern to be elected to the Manitoba Legislature.
After his election to the Manitoba Legislature, Goertzen was promoted to the shadow cabinet as Chief Justice Critic and in 2005 was also appointed Deputy House Leader. As Justice Critic, Goertzen called for increased police resources, stronger laws against organized crime, electronic monitoring of sex offenders and a drug treatment court to assist individuals addicted to drugs and alcohol. In 2005-2006, Goertzen held a series of informational meetings across Manitoba about Crystal Meth and lobbied for new legislation to allow parents of drug addicted teenagers to place their children in drug treatment. The NDP government accepted that suggestion and legislation was passed June 13, 2006.
Goertzen was a strong supporter of Opposition Leader
Stuart Murray and refused to participate in internal Caucus dissent that ultimately led to the end of Murray's leadership in November 2005.
Goertzen was among the first MLAs to endorse the provincial PC leadership campaign of
Hugh McFadyen
Hugh Daniel McFadyen (born 31 May 1967) is a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, Canada. From 2006 to 2012, he was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, and Leader of the Opposition in the Manitoba legislature. Followin ...
who eventually won the leadership. McFadyen reappointed Goertzen as Justice Critic after his leadership election and also appointed him the PC
House Leader
{{Politics of Canada
In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament (MP) and an expert in parliamentary procedure. The same representation is found in the pr ...
. Goertzen was again nominated the provincial PC candidate for Steinbach on September 8, 2006. On May 22, 2007 Goertzen was re-elected with 83% of the vote, the largest victory in the history of the riding.
In February 2010, Goertzen was named Deputy Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, and hence Deputy Leader of the Opposition. On October 4, 2011, Goertzen was re-elected in Steinbach by another large majority, although the PC's once again lost the election to the NDP. With the resignation of McFayden as party leader after the election, there was some speculation in the local media that Goertzen may be a candidate for the position.
Following the 2011 election and selection of
Brian Pallister
Brian William Pallister (born July 6, 1954) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Manitoba from 2016 until 2021. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 2012 to 2021. He was previously a cab ...
as leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party, Goertzen was again appointed House Leader and Justice Critic for the PC Caucus. In 2013 he led
filibusterin the Manitoba Legislature to protest the increase of the provincial sales tax (PST) by the NDP government.
In 2013, despite widesprea
h
declined to runfor the Conservative Party of Canada in the federal riding of
Provencher
Provencher is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1871. It is a largely rural district in the province's southeast corner. Its largest community is the city of St ...
, centered on Steinbach, following the resignation of MP
Vic Toews
Victor Toews (; born September 10, 1952) is a Paraguayan-Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a judge of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on ...
.
Following the Progressive Conservative victory in the 2016 provincial election, newly-elected premier Pallister named Goertzen as a member of the new
cabinet, assigning him the
office of Health, Seniors and Active Living.
In May 2018, Goertzen was strongly criticized for speaking at an anti-abortion rally in Steinbach, and for constant deferral of questions related to women's reproductive matters, including abortion, to Rochelle Squires, minister of the status of women.
In September 2020, Goertzen made a Facebook post emphasizing the right to refuse vaccination, which received widespread condemnation by the public and which many medical experts considered to be problematic coming from an education minister and previous health minister.
Personal life
Goertzen married his wife Kimberley Hiebert in 1997. They live in
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 ...
and have one son.
Goertzen has published several articles related to law and politics including in the ''Asper Review of International Business and Trade Law'' (Volume 3- 2003) and ''Underneath the Golden Boy'' (Volume 3-2004). In November 2006, he published a book on the life of Jim Penner, his predecessor in the Legislature, entitled ''A Life Well Lived: The Story of Jim Penner and Penner Foods'' (National Library of Canada ).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goertzen, Kelvin
1969 births
Living people
Premiers of Manitoba
Deputy premiers of Manitoba
People from Steinbach, Manitoba
Politicians from Winnipeg
Health ministers of Manitoba
Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs
Canadian Mennonites
University of Manitoba alumni
21st-century Canadian politicians