Former MP Ouellette to seek provincial Liberal nomination

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2023 (873 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Former Winnipeg Centre MP and mayoral candidate Robert-Falcon Ouellette wants to run under the Manitoba Liberal banner in the 2023 race for Southdale.

Ouellette is seeking the Liberal nomination for the constituency in southeast Winnipeg in the October election.

“I want to be able to contribute to the political life. We need more people to get involved in politics. There’s not enough people that put their names forward,” the 43-year-old said during a phone interview Monday.

“We could use a greater diversity (of candidates).”

It would mark the first time the former politician, who came fifth in the 2022 race for the top job at Winnipeg city hall, has run for provincial office.

Tory Health Minister Audrey Gordon, who is seeking re-election, is currently the representative for the area.

The father of six, originally from Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, lives in nearby St. Vital.

Since his fall civic campaign, Ouellette said he has been taking care of a newborn and establishing an Indigenous support group within the Royal Winnipeg Rifles Regiment to connect soldiers to their community and culture.

The veteran is also currently employed as an associate professor of French education at the University of Ottawa.

Ouellette made his political debut when he ran for mayor of Winnipeg in 2014. He was elected Liberal MP of Winnipeg Centre for one term (2015-19).

“I want to be able to contribute to the political life. We need more people to get involved in politics.”–Robert-Falcon Ouellette

Throughout his most recent bid for mayor, Ouellette spoke at-length about concerns related to addiction, affordable housing and rising crime in Winnipeg.

He received 15,029 votes in the 2022 civic race and placed fifth behind Mayor Scott Gillingham, Glen Murray, Kevin Klein (now Kirkfield Park MLA) and Shaun Loney, respectively.

Ouellette said he wants to run for provincial office to drive forward many of the issues he brought up during the autumn campaign that require municipal and provincial collaboration to make a change.

“I really want to make our city a better place for my children,” he said. “Windsor Park and Southdale is a community which is important. It has large francophone and Indigenous populations, newcomers and people who are anglophone.”

Citing his political experience, Ouellette indicated he has had success getting people resources to improve their lives in Winnipeg.

The Manitoba NDP have nominated Métis mother Renée Cable, a community and labour advocate who works with unions and non-profits, in the coming race for the provincial electoral district.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

A date for the Liberals’ nomination meeting for the constituency of Southdale has not yet been set. It is anticipated to take place in early June.

The party leader said he was glad to hear Ouellette is putting his name forward as a candidate for Southdale.

“It’s a very competitive riding and we look forward to nominating many more candidates soon,” MLA Dougald Lamont said in a statement Monday.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.