MLA Richard Perchotte who represents the Selkirk area recently announced that he will not be seeking reelection when the next provincial election comes around.
In a statement that he put out with his announcement, he discussed how serving as the region’s MLA has been a privilege and after great reflection and numerous conversations with family and loved ones, he decided politics is not the best fit for him.
Perchotte made his announcement on March 5, 2026 and discussed with Record staff the decision further as well as what his time in office has been like.
“I’m a person who likes to accomplish tasks, and being elected to represent the people in Selkirk is truly an honour that I will cherish forever. But, I had an opportunity to peek behind the curtain and to see how things actually work, and I don’t have a lot of faith in our government systems. I’ve said it many times in the chamber. I respect the people that are there because it’s their duly elected right to represent the people that sent them there, but I don’t respect the behaviour that goes on. I have seen so many people that were elected, that I met in the first couple of weeks of myself being elected, and we had nice conversations, and we respected each other, and then I saw an ugly side take over a lot of people. They became something they’re not in this whole partisan political movement where you hate the opposition. And, I really think that that we deserve better as citizens, that we should have people that represent us,” said Perchotte.
He explained that the partisan nature of politics as well as the inability to work together to find common ground or compromise is part of his decision to not seek reelection.
As far as representing his constituents, Perchotte feels that that aspect of the job was an amazing opportunity.
“I found that people that I met knew how genuine I was, being involved in local things around . . . and I often heard from people, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s so nice that you’re here, that you engage, that you became a part of what we were trying to bring out today.’,” he said
Perchotte is not a stranger to supporting our local community, however, as a private citizen before his time in office, he was a sponsor of the Indigenous Day Celebrations held annually at Selkirk Park as well as part of the Selkirk Fair and Rodeo Committee for a number of years.
He recalled that this community connection allowed him to help constituents when they came to him with issues, even if the solution wasn’t strictly tied to his role as MLA.
“When I had constituents who would come forward with issues, I was also able to help them out with their issues without having to get government bodies involved. It was simply getting them to the right people to help them, sometimes through personal contacts. That was tremendously satisfying to be that person, and I will continue to be that person moving forward. If I can help somebody with my personal contacts, or I know of a way to get people help, or to the appropriate bodies, I certainly will do that. I don’t have to be the MLA to do that,” he said.
After seeing provincial politics in action, he feels that not enough people understand the challenges that MLAs face.
“When you peek behind the curtain and you see what’s going on, I think that if people would really know how partisan politics is, and how shameful it is, I really wish there was a different system. I really wish that all 57 ridings were set up as independents, and we had to go there and we had to work together. If you want to bring something forward, everybody has an equal turn and location to speak to represent their communities, and if we all had an opportunity to bring forward the concerns that we have, we might highlight some concerns that people didn’t know about in your own communities, and we could work together to find solutions instead of talking about what you didn’t do when you were in government or highlighting stuff that is more for talking points and headlines than it is for actually helping people,” he said.
He plans to serve the rest of his term as MLA representing his constituents, and wishes the next person to take the role as MLA the best.
“I did become firm in my decision for quite some time before I made the post, and I wanted to make sure that I gave ample opportunity for other candidates to come forward to run for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, so they know that they have the ability to run. Anybody that wants to put their name forward, I certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for people that do serve in public life,” he said.
As for the future of the region, he hopes that work can be done to certain intersections to make them safer and also that passing lanes on Manitoba Highway 8, which he’s advocated for in the Legislature, come to be.
“I would hope that the government, instead of ramming through a temporary bridge repair that’s only going to last 15 to 20 years, would actually build a brand new bridge. Instead of giving a bunch of poorly thought out options, come forward with some real, concrete decisions, and say, ‘Yes, a new bridge with an aqueduct leading up to it to have flood mitigation, and allow transportation to continue year round, it is the only option,’ not a $10 million or $20 million refurbishment of 80 year old bridge,” said Perchotte.
He also hopes that now that the new Selkirk hospital has been established, repairs can be made to the old hospital building and that that space can be used for increased health care services such as increasing the number of surgeries offered in the province in the future.
Perchotte thanks residents in the region for their support, restating how much of an honour it has been to serve the community.
“When I made my announcement that I was going to not seek reelection, I thought there’d be some haters online that would say, ‘You know what, good for you. Good riddance. But I’ve had hundreds of people reach out to me and thank me for stepping forward. Thank me for my honesty. Thank me for the work that I did. Thank me for staying genuine. And, it’s a situation where, if you stay true to the community that you’re a part of, you’ll never do wrong, and it’s the people in this community that I truly love. That’s why my family chooses to be here. My children stay in the area. There’s opportunities that people have, but this is home, and that’s why I represented. I thank everybody who cast their vote for me, and I thank everybody who didn’t, but appreciated the work that I did,” said Perchotte.
