Cornwallis reeve steps down amid council upheaval

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This article was published 07/04/2025 (306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — The embattled reeve of the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis has stepped down after 23 years on council, citing a lack of support from colleagues and “fundamental differences in values, priorities, and approaches to governance.”

Sam Hofer announced his immediate resignation Monday in a letter to residents, saying he could no longer effectively serve the community.

He said the challenges within council had compromised his ability to lead.

“I sought to implement quarterly engagement meetings to foster direct communication between council and residents,” Hofer wrote. Regrettably, these initiatives were not supported by other council members, and I faced significant barriers in organizing them.”

Elected reeve in 2022, Hofer said his decision did not come lightly but was made in the interest of upholding the integrity of the office.

Hofer’s resignation follows months of upheaval on council.

In October 2024, council passed a motion calling for the reeve to resign after the Manitoba ombudsman said Hofer had inappropriately shared privileged information. Hofer defied the calls to resign, instead saying the matter would be left to the courts to decide.

In January, Hofer appealed a 270-day suspension imposed by councillors following a year-long investigation into alleged violations of the council’s code of conduct. Councillors described Hofer’s actions as “bad behaviour,” linking it to high staff turnover, but declined to provide specific details. At the time, Hofer returned to his duties while awaiting the outcome of the appeal.

Deputy reeve Terry Ross confirmed Hofer’s resignation and expressed uncertainty about the path forward.

“We were supposed to meet to reinstate some sanctions, but with his resignation, we are unaware of what our next steps are,” he told the Brandon Sun Monday. “We’re reaching out to Municipal Affairs to find out what the protocol is and what needs to happen next. We are heading into the office to resolve that through a resolution this evening.”

Ross said there had initially been four code of conduct complaints filed against the reeve. After an investigation, he said, three of the four were found to be substantiated and council implemented sanctions in accordance with the Municipal Act.

“The reeve used his right to appeal the sanctions,” he said. “For a period of time, he was back as reeve, performing his duties. But the council recently received notice that the decision had been made to deny the reeve’s appeal.”

Hofer did not respond to the Sun’s calls for an interview.

— Brandon Sun