Earlier this month, Red River North MLA Jeff Wharton officially announced that he’s decided not to seek another term as Red River North MLA during the next provincial election. This change won’t affect the region right away, as he will continue on in his role as MLA advocating for his constituents until the next election takes place.
Wharton was first elected in 2016 for the Gimli riding, but with the boundaries of his riding changing in the 2019 provincial election, he next ran in the current Red River North riding, was elected and has been an MLA in our region since.
“It was just an absolute honour to be elected for the folks of the Gimli riding in 2016 to the Progressive Conservative government, one of the largest majorities in the history of Manitoba. That was just an absolute thrill. It was led by Premier Pallister, and for those four years, we had some great success in Gimli. We were able to accomplish a lot of things, like the building of the new 55-plus building in the north end of town. We put that 41 unit building up, and (we are) very proud of that investment, and a number of other things, of course, within the community. It was a large community, from Hecla Island all the way down to St. Andrews. And then, moving out of Gimli into Red River North presented more opportunity to get to know the folks here,” said Wharton.
Red River North is an urban-rural riding with residents in St. Clements, but the riding is interesting as it includes a few streets in the City of Winnipeg as well.
“It’s a big area and a very diverse area as well, with two RMs, the RM of St. Clements and the RM of East St. Paul. And again, working with the folks there and the councils, it’s been a thrill. I mean, we did some great things while we were there, too, in investments in sewer, water, roads, infrastructure, bridges,” he said.
Wharton also says that he’s been honoured to serve in four ministries in his time in office. He was appointed to work as the Municipal Relations Minister, the Minister of Crown Services, the Minister of Environment, Climate, and Parks, and the Minister of Economic Development, Investment, Trade, and Mining at seperate times when his party formed government.
He’s said that his favourite part of being in office is going to events and meeting people in the community.
“One of the number one reasons why I wanted to run was to help people make Manitoba a better place and leave it a better place than what it was when I started, and I believe during my tenure we’ve accomplished that in my communities that I’ve had the pleasure to serve,” said Wharton.
He says that it was a tough decision to decide not to run for office again.
“When we lost government in 2023, I never had the opportunity to serve on the other bench. As far as opposition goes, opposition serves a very important role. We have to hold the government to account, and we do that every day. And, I’m basically at this stage in my life, my wife and I had talked about what we would do. We knew that we would like to give back as long as we could, but it’s time,” he said.
He said that family, and in particular his grandchildren, were also a factor in his decision to spend more time at home.
“My wife and I were sitting here a few weeks ago, and we had a knock on the door at our home, and who walked in were my 16 year old granddaughter, her 14 year old sister, and her nine year old brother, and they came over because she got her license. She bought a car, and they wanted to come visit Mama and Papa. That was unbelievable, and I went, Where has the time gone?” said Wharton.
He’s had the honour of serving as a Manitoba MLA for ten years now, but he explained that it’s now time to pass the torch.
“Let’s get some fresh ideas and get some new folks involved, and it’s great because I can serve at a different level and help support the party and help support my colleagues and constituents in caucus in a different fashion, and I’m looking forward to that next chapter,” said Wharton.
His advice for residents in our region moving forward is to pay attention to what government is doing.
“I would say to my constituents, and I’ve said this before, is really be engaged, try to understand what’s going on in Manitoba, what the decision makers are doing. Really do your research, because social media today, it’s unfortunate, it may be a necessity, it is going to be around for a long time, but it can also lead us in a direction, if we’re not fully informed, that we need to really take a double-take at. So, I would say to Manitobans, be informed, reach out to your MLA, reach out to your local politicians, reach out to your Mayor, Reeve, or councillors, just keep in touch, because it is your community. We’re here, you put us here to work for you, and we, in turn, want to hear from you,” he said.
He hopes for continued growth and investment in our region in the future.
“My biggest hope is we just continue to do the great things that we’ve done. It’ll be a challenge. Today’s world is a tough world, but I know that my colleagues and the new ones that are looking at coming up are up for the challenge,” said Wharton.
He also wanted to thank his constituents.
“Coming from myself, my wife Mickey, who many people know, has been by my side throughout this incredible journey and our family, we wish Red River North constituents, of course, and all Manitobans great success, health and happiness, and we also pray for summer to come soon,” said Wharton.
