Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced Aug. 10 that he will be stepping down as premier and Progressive Conservative party leader and will not seek re-election to the Manitoba legislature.
Pallister made the announcement to reporters during a PC caucus retreat.
“I believe that now is the time for a new leader and premier to take our province forward,” he said noting that he has been in the leader’s role for nearly 10 years after taking over from Hugh McFadyen in 2012 and premier for the last five. “It’s not easy to make the decision to leave. I don’t think there’s a better time than now.”
Pallister’s career in provincial politics began in 1992, when he won a byelection in Portage La Prairie, and he was named to then-premier Gary Filmon’s cabinet after getting re-elected in 1995.
He jumped to federal politics in 1997, losing his first election before being elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative/Canadian Alliance candidate in 2000. Pallister was re-elected in 2004 and 2006 before announcing his intention to step down in 2008. He became Manitoba premier in 2016 when the PCs defeated the incumbent NDP government and maintained the position when his party won a majority of seats in September 2019.
