Health Minister Audrey Gordon among Winnipeg PC cabinet ministers losing seats to NDP
Riel's Rochelle Squires, Kirkfield Park's Kevin Klein also defeated by NDP candidates
The Manitoba NDP's win in Tuesday's election means several Progressive Conservative MLAs are out of a job, including a number of former cabinet ministers.
That includes Audrey Gordon, the Progressive Conservative health minister, who lost her seat in Winnipeg's Southdale riding to NDP rookie Renée Cable.
"It's tough to make the decision to put your name on the ballot and knock on those doors," Gordon said following the loss. "Everyone ran a good race and tonight wasn't in my favour."
Gordon is one of eight Manitoba PC cabinet ministers who lost their seats in the legislature, as the NDP formed a majority government.
Rochelle Squires, who served two terms as the Riel MLA, was one of the first PC cabinet ministers defeated Tuesday night in Manitoba's provincial election, losing to NDP candidate Mike Moyes.
James Teitsma, who courted controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic by decrying vaccine mandates, lost his northeast Winnipeg Radisson seat to rookie NDP candidate Jelynn Dela Cruz.
Cabinet ministers Kevin Klein, Janice Morley-Lecomte and Scott Johnston were also defeated in the Kirkfield Park, Seine River and Assiniboine ridings, respectively.
Though their races were too close to call on election night, unofficial Elections Manitoba results released Thursday confirmed cabinet minister Jon Reyes (Waverley) and Andrew Smith (Lagimodière) were also defeated by NDP challengers.
Former PC cabinet ministers Wayne Ewasko (Lac du Bonnet), Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach), Derek Johnson (Interlake-Gimli), Obby Khan (Fort Whyte), Greg Nesbitt (Riding Mountain), Doyle Piwniuk (Turtle Mountain) and Jeff Wharton (Red River North) were re-elected in their respective ridings.
WATCH | Audrey Gordon reflects on time as health minister following defeat:
Gordon was one of a trio of new MLAs who became the first black candidates elected to the Manitoba Legislature in the 2019 election.
She was named minister of health and seniors care in August 2021, replacing Heather Stefanson, who resigned her cabinet post to run for the leadership of the PC Party.
It's been a tough file that saw the province grapple with chronic understaffing of Manitoba hospitals and long wait times for emergency care and surgeries.
In spite of the loss, Gordon said she was proud to serve as health minister, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The health minister job at any time is difficult. During a pandemic, it was even more difficult," she said.
"We have some healing to do as a province, but I feel incredibly proud of the work I did."
Families minister defeated in Riel
Squires, first elected in 2016, held several positions in the PC cabinet, including the Municipal Relations, Sustainable Development, and Sport, Culture and Heritage portfolios. Mostly recently, she oversaw the Families department.
Political analyst Chris Adams said Squires was seen as a good representative of the urban side of the PC party, as well as a possible leadership candidate in the 2021 PC leadership race to replace former premier Brian Pallister.
"She's also seen as sort of a bright future of the party," Adams said.
Moyes is a teacher at Glenlawn Collegiate who has served on the boards of several community organizations, including the Greendell Park Community Centre and Bishop Grandin Greenway.
Teitsma loses in Radisson
First elected in 2016, Teitsma was appointed to the PC cabinet earlier this year, overseeing the Consumer Protection and Government Services portfolio. He was also the minister responsible for the public service and minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board.
But he went against his party in 2021 when he publicly denounced the province's COVID-19 vaccine mandates, arguing they went too far in restricting people's freedoms.
He also came under fire for travelling outside the province when his government was encouraging the public to stay home.
Klein out in Kirkfield Park
Klein lost his Kirkfield Park seat to NDP candidate Logan Oxenham after less than a year in office.
Klein became an MLA in December 2022, after beating Oxenham in a tight byelection for the riding. He was appointed environment and climate minister in January.
The former city councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood also ran in last October's Winnipeg mayoral race, coming in third.
Morley-Lecomte loses in Seine River
Morley-Lecomte, who joined Heather Stefanson's cabinet earlier this year, lost to NDP candidate Billie Cross in the south Winnipeg riding of Seine River.
Morley-Lecomte was sworn in as minister of mental health and community wellness in January 2023, taking over the post previously held by Sarah Guillemard.
Prior to her election in 2016, Morley-Lecomte worked in social services for more than 25 years, including as a counsellor at a domestic violence shelter.
Scott Johnston ousted in Assiniboia
PC MLA Scott Johnston was defeated by NDP candidate Nellie Kennedy in the northwest Winnipeg riding of Assiniboia.
First elected in 2019, Johnston was promoted from the backbenches to cabinet in 2022 when he was appointed minister of the newly-minted Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care.
Johnston's department was tasked with implementing all recommendations of the Stevenson review into the deadly 2020 COVID-19 outbreak at Maples personal care home in Winnipeg.
Prior to entering politics, Johnston was a trustee for the St. James-Assiniboia School Division.
Reyes loses Waverley
Jon Reyes, the PCs' immigration minister, was unseated by the NDP's David Pankratz in a tight race for the Waverley riding, the results of which weren't clear until Thursday.
Reyes was first elected in 2016 as MLA for St. Norbert and was re-elected in 2019 in the new constituency of Waverley.
As immigration minister, Reyes oversaw efforts to recruit thousands of health-care workers from overseas to address critical labour needs.
Those efforts included a trip to the Philippines with a delegation from Manitoba to try to convince hundreds of internationally educated nurses to come to the province to work.
On election night, before the Waverley results were known, Reyes said he felt regardless of the outcome, he could walk away with his head held high.
"I've done some really good things in my constituency and in the ministries that I've held, all because I listened to the concerns of Manitobans and my constituents," Reyes said Tuesday night.
Andrew Smith defeated in Lagimodière
In another race that was too close to call on election night, PC cabinet minister Andrew Smith was unseated by the NDP's Tyler Blashko in Lagimodière.
Smith won the Winnipeg riding in 2019, and served as the cabinet minister responsible for the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation in the Stefanson government. He previously oversaw the sport, culture and heritage portfolio.
He was first elected to the Manitoba legislative assembly in 2016 in the Southdale riding.
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