Spruce Woods PC MLA resigns to run federally in ill mentor’s Brandon-Souris seat

The PC MLA for Spruce Woods has stepped down to mount a federal campaign to replace his former boss in the blue stronghold of Brandon-Souris.

Rookie politician Grant Jackson submitted his resignation letter to the Manitoba legislature on Monday afternoon.

Conservative MP Larry Maguire announced Sunday he would not to seek re-election owing to health concerns that could impact his ability to participate in the federal campaign.

Jackson, who was the official Opposition’s deputy house leader and education critic, has since confirmed plans to trade his seat at 450 Broadway for one, he hopes, on Parliament Hill. He worked previously for Maguire in both Brandon and Ottawa.

“It’s a roller-coaster. For starters, Larry Maguire — and I am going to get emotional — is a very good friend and a great mentor and he has received a serious diagnosis, so that’s troubling, but we are wishing him well and he’ll get through this,” he said, tears welling in his eyes.

“I’m just absolutely flattered and shocked that the federal party has asked me to attempt to step into his shoes.”

The 28-year-old was elected to office for the first time in 2023, after more than a decade volunteering with the PC Party of Manitoba and serving as a political staffer and organizer in Winnipeg, Brandon and Ottawa.

“We’ve got a lot of serious issues facing our country right now and you need somebody who knows what’s going on down there and how the system works,” Jackson said, referencing his previous experience as a parliamentary assistant in Canada’s capital.

Maguire, who has represented the riding in southwest Manitoba since 2013, surprised party members with his announcement just after a federal election was called for April 28.

Jackson said he was not expecting a call from Maguire Sunday, nor a followup from the Conservative Party of Canada. He accepted the nomination after informing his caucus colleagues of the offer and discussing it with them Monday morning.

Speaker Tom Lindsey announced Jackson’s resignation, which is effective immediately, after question period.

The vacancy in Spruce Woods will trigger a second provincial byelection since the start of 2025.

Maguire indicated his medical team informed him late last week that a private issue he had believed to be minor was “more major than expected.”

The development made him reconsider his place in politics, after nearly 26 years in provincial and federal office, he said.

“It’ll take some weeks to get over, and I won’t have the same energy for a couple of months.”

Maguire said he was confident in his party’s ability to hold onto the seat. The federal riding has been Conservative for all but one four-year term since its creation in 1953.

Jackson lives in his hometown of Souris. He has said his father’s experience as a former small-town mayor — Darryl Jackson ran the Souris-Glenwood municipality between 2005 and 2022 — inspired him to enter politics.

Quentin Robinson will run as the NDP candidate for Brandon-Souris. The Brandon resident ran for the provincial NDP in Brandon West during the 2023 Manitoba election, losing by less than 100 votes to Progressive Conservative Wayne Balcaen, a former Brandon police chief.

His work includes being a church minister and a marriage and family therapist.

“My draw to the NDP was kind of rooted in the things that I’ve learned within my faith community,” Robinson told the Brandon Sun Monday. “The big commandment that I learned is a really common one in just about every faith tradition, ‘Love your neighbour.’”

Jim Oliver is listed as the People’s Party of Canada’s candidate in the riding. Oliver, who lives on the eastern edge of Riding Mountain National Park, spent five years as a tattoo artist in Winnipeg before moving to rural Manitoba.

The Liberals have yet to announce a candidate.

Manitoba legislation states a byelection must be held within 180 days of a seat being declared vacant.

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.

Transcona residents went to the polls earlier this month to replace the late NDP MLA and education minister Nello Altomare, who died Jan. 14.

Voters chose another longtime educator, the NDP’s Shannon Corbett, to represent them.

Premier Wab Kinew’s government currently has 34 seats in the 57-seat legislature. Following Jackson’s resignation, the PCs have 20.

There are two independents, one of whom is the leader of the Manitoba Liberals and the other an ousted NDP MLA.

— With files from the Brandon Sun

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.