Leader of the Opposition (Manitoba)

The Leader of the Opposition (French: Chef de l'Opposition) in Manitoba is the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba who leads the party recognized as the Official Opposition. This status generally goes to the leader of the second largest party in the Legislative Assembly.

William Alexander Macdonald was the first officially recognized Leader of the Opposition in Manitoba, although Rodmond Roblin is considered to have been the de facto opposition leader from 1890 until he lost his seat in the 1892 provincial election.

As of 18 October 2023, the Leader of the Opposition of Manitoba has been Heather Stefanson, the outgoing head of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.[1]

List of Opposition Leaders

Below is a list of parliamentary opposition leaders in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, from 1870 to the present.

NamePartyTook officeLeft office
  William Alexander Macdonald[2] Conservative 1892 1893
  John Andrew Davidson[3] Conservative 1893 1894
  James Fisher[4] Independent 1894 1896
 . Rodmond Roblin[5] Conservative 1896 1900
  Thomas Greenway Liberal 1900 1904
  Charles Mickle[6] Liberal 1904 1906
  Charles Mickle Liberal 1908 1909
  Tobias Norris Liberal 1910 1915
  Albert Prefontaine Conservative 1915 1920
  Unknown[7] Conservative 1920 1922
  Tobias Norris Liberal 1922 1927
  Fawcett Taylor Conservative 1927 1933
  William Sanford Evans Conservative 1933 1936
  Errick Willis Conservative 1936 1940
  Lewis Stubbs[8] Independent 1940 1941
  Huntly Ketchen Anti-Coalition Conservative 1941 1943
  Seymour Farmer CCF 1943 1947
  Edwin Hansford CCF 1948 1950
  Errick Willis Progressive Conservative 1950 1954
  Dufferin Roblin Progressive Conservative 1954 1958
  Douglas Lloyd Campbell Liberal 1958 1961
  Gildas Molgat Liberal 1961 1969
  Walter Weir Progressive Conservative 1969 1971
  Sidney Spivak Progressive Conservative 1971 1975
  Donald Craik Progressive Conservative 1975 1976
  Sterling Lyon Progressive Conservative 1976 1977
  Edward Schreyer NDP 1977 1979
  Howard Pawley NDP 1979 1981
  Sterling Lyon Progressive Conservative 1981 1983
  Gary Filmon Progressive Conservative 1983 1988
  Sharon Carstairs Liberal 1988 1990
  Gary Doer NDP 1990 1999
  Gary Filmon Progressive Conservative 1999 2000
  Bonnie Mitchelson Progressive Conservative 2000 2000
  Stuart Murray Progressive Conservative 2000 2006
  Hugh McFadyen Progressive Conservative 2006 2012
  Brian Pallister Progressive Conservative 2012 2016
  Flor Marcelino NDP 2016 2017
  Wab Kinew NDP 2017 2023
  Heather Stefanson Progressive Conservative 2023 present

References
  1. "Premiers of Canada and Leaders of Opposition". www.legassembly.sk.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  2. W.A. Macdonald was the first officially recognized leader of the opposition and held the post until his election to the legislature was voided in 1893.
  3. Davidson was the second officially recognized leader of the opposition and held the post until his election to the legislature was voided in 1894.
  4. It is unclear whether Fisher was de facto or de jure Opposition leader. It is also unclear whether he joined the Conservative Party at some point.
  5. Hugh John Macdonald was the party's official leader from 1897 but did not have a seat in the legislature so Roblin remained official opposition leader.
  6. Edward Brown was the Liberal Party's leader from 1906 to 1908 but did not have a seat in the legislature. It is unclear whether Mickle remained Official Opposition leader during this period, whether the position was assigned to another MLA, or whether it became vacant.
  7. Despite having fewer seats than the Independent Farmers following the 1920 provincial election, the Conservatives remained the official opposition. The Conservative leader Richard G. Willis did not win a seat in the election, so it is unknown who served as leader of the Opposition
  8. Stubbs was the only sitting opposition MLA for a period in 1940 after all the remaining opposition parties joined John Bracken's wartime coalition government. It's unclear whether he was given the title of leader of the Official Opposition or whether he retained such a title after Social Credit MLA Salome Halldorson and Conservatives John Poole and Huntly Ketchen left the governing coalition to sit on the opposition bench prior to the 1941 general election.

Sources
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