Heather Stefanson


Heather Dorothy Stefanson is a Canadian former politician who served as the 24th premier of Manitoba from 2021 to 2023; the first woman in the province's history to hold that role.
She is the former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and served as Leader of the Opposition of Manitoba after the 2023 Manitoba election. She was the member of the Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Tuxedo until May 6, 2024.

Early life and career

Stefanson was born on May 11, 1970, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was raised in Winnipeg, where she attended St. John's-Ravenscourt School. She received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Western Ontario.
After receiving her degree, Stefanson worked as a special assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister under Brian Mulroney before returning to Manitoba in 1993 as an assistant to federal Agriculture Minister Charlie Mayer.
From 1995 to 2000, Stefanson was a member of the University of Manitoba's Young Associates organization. From 1998 to 2000, Stenson volunteered on Premier Gary Filmon's Executive in Tuxedo.
In 1999, Stefanson was suspended for seven months by the Manitoba District Council of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada for failing to meet educational requirements. Stefanson was found to have made 34 inappropriate trades while she was working as an investment adviser at Wellington West Capital. In 2003, Wellington West Capital was fined $13,000 for failing to supervise the activities of Stefanson. She had been suspended from acting in the capacity of a registered representative but had issued statements to clients indicating her employment as a registered representative during this suspension.

Political career

Stefanson was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a 2000 by-election, replacing former Progressive Conservative Premier Gary Filmon in the south Winnipeg riding of Tuxedo. Stefanson was easily re-elected in the 2003 election, with the NDP improving to a second-place status, followed by her re-election in the 2007, 2011, 2016, and 2019 elections.
In 2002, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of her community service.
In 2016, Premier Brian Pallister named Stefanson deputy premier and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. In 2018, she became the Minister of Families in addition to her role as deputy premier. In 2021, she took over the health portfolio; health minister Kelvin Goertzen became deputy premier.
On 2 November 2021, Stefanson became the first female Premier of Manitoba following a majority vote of the Progressive Conservative caucus.

MLA for Tuxedo

Stefanson was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a 2000 by-election, replacing former Progressive Conservative Premier Gary Filmon in the south Winnipeg riding of Tuxedo. Stefanson defeated Liberal Rochelle Zimberg by 2,692 votes to 1,586; Iona Starr, representing the governing New Democratic Party, finished third.
As MLA for Tuxedo, Stefanson has been an advocate for Special Olympics Manitoba, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of people with intellectual disabilities through sport. In 2013, she introduced The Special Olympics Awareness Week Act in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, designating the second week of June each year as Special Olympics Awareness Week in Manitoba. The Act received unanimous support from the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. Stefanson also continues to serve as an honorary board member for Special Olympics Manitoba.
Stefanson has announced several investments in the Assiniboine Park located in her Tuxedo constituency. In 2017, when Stefanson was serving as Deputy Premier, she announced $15-million for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy's new Diversity Gardens project, the final phase of the Conservancy's 10-year, $200 million development plan. As Premier in 2022, Stefanson announced $2 million to support a $15-million capital campaign to build the new Toba Centre for Children & Youth at 710 Assiniboine Park Drive. The Toba Centre provides support to child abuse victims, including forensic interviews.
Stefanson has maintained strong ties with the Jewish community throughout her time as MLA. In 2016, she condemned rising anti-Semitism and praised the Tuxedo Jewish community. In 2019, she joined Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman in requesting that the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg disinvite controversial American activist Linda Sarsour from speaking at an event, citing the speaker's alleged anti-Semitic comments.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Stefanson was sworn in as Minister of Justice and Attorney General in a ceremony at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in 2016, becoming only the second woman to hold that position since 1871. She was also appointed Deputy Premier and Keeper of the Great Seal of the province of Manitoba.

Criminal justice system reform

In response to a 2016 report by the Macdonald–Laurier Institute that ranked Manitoba's criminal justice system as the worst in the country, Stefanson committed to a full review of the criminal justice system. The review showed that Manitoba had the highest adult incarceration rate among provinces, along with high violent crime and recidivism rates. The review also found significant delay in criminal matters moving through Manitoba's court system. To respond to the review, Stefanson released Manitoba's Criminal Justice System Modernization Strategy in March 2018. The plan included four essential components, including crime prevention; focusing resources on the most serious criminal cases; more effectively using restorative justice; and responsibly reintegrating offenders back into society. In 2019, Stefanson's successor as Minister of Justice announced that the strategy had resulted in significant reductions in time to disposition in Manitoba's provincial court and Court of Queen's Bench as well as a reduction in provincial custody counts.
In 2017, Stefanson collaborated with the Chief Justices of Manitoba's provincial court, Court of Queen's Bench, and Court of Appeal to request that the federal government change the Criminal Code to eliminate preliminary inquiries in the province. The letter proposed a four-year pilot project where preliminary inquiries would be eliminated for indictable offences carrying a sentence less than ten years, and replaced with an out-of-court discovery process for offences carrying a sentence over ten years. The goal of the proposed project was to reduce unreasonable court delays. It responded to the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R v Jordan, which set time limits on criminal proceedings that could result in people accused of serious crimes, including murder, walking free due to unreasonable court delay. The federal government responded to calls for preliminary inquiry reform in 2018 with the introduction and passage of Bill C-75. The Bill restricts preliminary inquiries to only offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years or more. University of Ottawa law professor Allan Rock estimated the legislation would produce an 87 percent reduction in preliminary inquiries and help reduce court delay significantly. In a statement regarding the federal, provincial and territorial Justice Ministers meeting in April 2017, Stefanson expressed her support for mandatory minimum sentences for certain criminal offences. She stated, "anything less than a prison sentence for certain crimes is unjustifiable in Manitoba's view."
In October 2017, Stefanson established a committee of experts in family law to make recommendations on how to make the system more accessible and less adversarial for couples going through separation and divorce. In June 2018, Stefanson announced the committee's recommendations, which included establishing a three-year pilot project in Winnipeg to direct Winnipeg-based family matters to non-adversarial mediation outside of court; creating an administrative office to triage and find more appropriate ways to resolve disputes; and expanding information available to Manitobans about family law related issues. In March 2019, Stefanson's successor as Minister of Justice introduced The Family Law Modernization Act based on the findings of the committee. The law included changes that would allow separating couples to resolve child custody, support, and property matters without going to court. The provincial government eventually launched a Family Resolution Service to resolve matters earlier and outside the tradition court process.The government estimated the new service would save Manitoba families up to $41 million in court and legal fees.
In March 2018, Stefanson introduced legislation reinstating the Queen's Counsel designation for Manitoba lawyers who have served for at least ten years and have demonstrated outstanding practice as a lawyer among other contributions. In October 2018, Stefanson's predecessor issued the first call for nominations for Queen's Counsel appointments. In June 2019, the Minister of Justice made the first Queen's Counsel appointments since the practice ended under the former NDP government in 2001.

Cannabis legalization

To prepare for the planned federal legalization of cannabis, Stefanson introduced The Cannabis Harm Prevention Act in March 2017. The Act created new cannabis-related driving offences that anticipated the eventual legalization of the drug, including granting police the ability to issue 24-hour driver's license suspensions if they believe a driver is under the influence of a drug or unable to safely operate a motor vehicle. In response to questions about the 2017 "420" protest on the Manitoba Legislature grounds, Stefanson stressed her concerns about the impact of cannabis on young people, saying of the protest "it does disturb me how many young people were out there today."
In December 2017, Stefanson introduced The Safe and Responsible Retailing of Cannabis Act, which established the framework for the regulation of cannabis retail sales in Manitoba. The Act established a private retail model, with retail licenses obtained from the newly renamed Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority. It required that all retailers source their cannabis supply from Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries. The Act also established 19 as the legal age to purchase cannabis in Manitoba, a decision endorsed by the Manitoba School Boards Association, as it would help keep cannabis out of schools and playgrounds.
Despite federal legislation allowing Canadian adults to grow up to four cannabis plants at home, the Safe and Responsible Retailing of Cannabis Act prohibited individuals from home cultivation of cannabis. Manitoba and Quebec are the only provinces to prohibit home cultivation of cannabis. Stefanson defended the home grow prohibition as a means of keeping cannabis away from children and preventing diversion of supply into the black market. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police had joined Stefanson and other Justice Ministers in calling for a national prohibition of home cultivation in April 2017. Cannabis advocates have since challenged both the Manitoba and Quebec home cultivation prohibitions in court as unconstitutional.
In March 2018, Stefanson announced The Impaired Driving Offences Act, which updated drug impaired driving provisions to complement pending federal legislation. Included in the Act were new administrative driver's license suspensions for impaired driving. She was joined by the Minister of Health, Seniors and Active Living who announced a provincial prohibition on smoking cannabis in outdoor public places.