Selinger was born in Regina,Saskatchewan,the son of Margaret Eva (Crawford) and Nicodemus Selinger.[7][8] He came to Manitoba from Saskatchewan as a child with his single mother,who ran a small clothing store in Winnipeg.[9]
Before entering politics,he worked as an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba,[10] and sat on the boards of the St. Boniface Hospital,the St. Boniface Museum,the Community Income Tax Service Boards,and as president of the Old St. Boniface Residents Association.[4][5][11]
Municipal politics
After joining an alliance of progressive municipal politicians called Winnipeg into the '90s in the late 1980s,Selinger was elected to the Winnipeg City Council in 1989[12] as a candidate of the alliance in St. Boniface,[11] defeating incumbent Guy Savoie.[9] During his time as a city councillor,Selinger was a member of the Executive Policy Committee and was the chair of the Committee on Finance and Administration.[6][9][11]
In 1992,Selinger ran for Mayor of Winnipeg and came in second place,losing to Susan Thompson.[9][12][13] Some have attributed his loss to his refusal to accept corporate and union donations,which he based on principle.[9] The 1992 civic election had 17 nominated candidates running for Mayor which resulted in votes getting split amongst several candidates similarly aligned on the political spectrum.[14]
Post municipal career
Following his failed mayoral bid,Selinger stepped back from politics and returned to teaching at the University of Manitoba.[15]
Selinger was re-elected in the provincial election of 2003[3][4] with almost 75% of the vote in his riding.[18] On November 4,2003,he was relieved of responsibilities for the Liquor Control Act.[3]
In January 2005,Selinger announced that his government would change its system of accounting for expenditures and revenues. This followed a request from Auditor GeneralJon Singleton,who criticized the government for listing crown corporation losses and other matters as off-budget spending. Selinger is considered a strong performer in the Doer Cabinet.
In April 2013,the Selinger government reneged on an earlier promise to not increase sales taxes by implementing a 1% increase in the provincial sales tax rate from 7% to 8%,which resulted in a precipitous decline in popular support for the government and,ultimately,a caucus revolt against Selinger's leadership culminating in the resignation of five cabinet ministers.[27][28] Due,in part,to the unpopularity of the tax increase,the NDP fell far behind the Progressive Conservatives in public opinion polls and never recovered. In the fall of 2014 several cabinet ministers privately asked Selinger to resign in hopes that the party would recover under a new leader,but he declined. In September 2014,during a caucus retreat,several MLAs openly told Selinger he needed to resign but he refused.[28]
A month later,at the end of October Minister of Finance Jennifer Howard (Fort Rouge),Minister of Municipal Government Stan Struthers (Dauphin),Minister for Jobs and the Economy Theresa Oswald (Seine River),Andrew Swan (Minto),Minister of Health Erin Selby (Southdale),[29] and several senior party officials went public with their call for Selinger's resignation.[28] Selinger asked ministers,labeled the "gang of five" in the media,to either disavow their public statements or quit. The five resigned on Monday,November 3. The same day Selinger said in a statement he was saddened by their decisions but had made it clear they could either "focus on the priorities of Manitoba families as part of our team,or resign." Selinger accepted the resignations of the five senior cabinet ministers and installed their replacements hours later.[30] On November 9,Selinger asked the party executive to hold a leadership election during the party's annual convention scheduled for March 6–8,2015,stating his intention to be a candidate.[31] The party executive subsequently agreed. Theresa Oswald,one of the five rebel ex-ministers,challenged Selinger for the leadership as did Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation Steve Ashton who had not protested against Selinger but who resigned from cabinet to enter leadership contest.[32]
At the March 8,2015 leadership election,Ashton was eliminated on the first ballot and Selinger prevailed on the second ballot with 50.93% of ballots cast,defeating Oswald by 33 votes.[33]
Selinger's popularity never recovered after his party raised the PST in 2013. By the time the writs were dropped for the 2016 provincial election,the NDP had been well behind the Tories in opinion polling for almost four years. The NDP was heavily defeated,falling to only 14 seats,its smallest seat count in three decades.[34]
After politics
Selinger resigned as party leader following his government's defeat and returned to the backbench. Selinger announced on February 20,2018,that he was resigning his seat in the legislature effective March 7,2018. He continues to reside in Winnipeg.
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