Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson resigning as MLA

Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson is re‐ signing as the MLA for Tuxedo.

Stefanson told the legis‐ lature Thursday she was ad‐ dressing the chamber for the last time before her resigna‐ tion, which takes effect May 6.

"Thank you Manitoba for the opportunity, the respon‐ sibility and the honour," Ste‐ fanson said, reading a speech before question peri‐ od.

"I want to thank the con‐ stituents of Tuxedo," she said. "Tuxedo is where my grandparents raised my fa‐ ther and where [my hus‐ band] Jason and I have raised our children. For us, it's home."

Speaking with reporters, Stefanson said announcing her resignation after more than 23 years was tough.

"It's emotional, especially having my family in the gallery," she said. "It was … an amazing experience, and I'm so thankful to have them all here today."

WATCH | Stefanson an‐ nounces her retirement in the legislature:

Stefanson was the first woman to serve as Manito‐ ba's premier. Her Progressive Conservative government was defeated last October following a divisive election campaign.

The PCs gave Stefanson a standing ovation after the an‐ nouncement. No one from the NDP side of the bench stood up until Premier Wab Kinew did a few seconds into the applause.

"I want to take this oppor‐ tunity to thank the member for Tuxedo for her life of ser‐ vice to the great province of Manitoba," Kinew told the legislature.

"The legacy that she leaves will be defined by her and others, but on a person‐ al level, later today I will reread the letter that she left for me on the desk in the premier's office and reflect on our shared commitment to the people of Manitoba."

Stefanson stepped down as party leader earlier this year, but had continued to serve as a member of Mani‐ toba's legislative assembly.

She was a key player throughout the PCs' most re‐ cent tenure in office.

Stefanson, who has held the Tuxedo riding in Win‐ nipeg for the Tories since 2000, took on several roles in cabinet, including the justice and health portfolios, after the Tories came to power in 2016 and were re-elected in 2019.

She was chosen as the party's leader and became premier in 2021, after thenpremier Brian Pallister stepped down as his party's popularity began to sag.

The PCs moved away from an austerity-minded ap‐ proach under Stefanson, but were unable to earn a third consecutive election victory last Oct. 3, when the NDP won a majority.

The Tories' election cam‐ paign was denounced by sev‐ eral high-ranking party mem‐ bers for campaign ads touting the government's op‐ position to a landfill search for the remains of First Na‐ tions women believed to have been victims of a serial killer.

Stefanson later apolo‐ gized for those ads, saying they "hurt Manitobans."

She announced after los‐ ing the Oct. 3 election that she would step down as party leader, but stayed on in that role until January. At the time, she wouldn't commit to serving her entire term as MLA.

Legislature used to be 'much more respectful': Stefanson

The reaction to Stefanson's announcement was generally respectful - a stark contrast to the treatment she was subjected to a week earlier.

Speaker Tom Lindsey on Thursday alluded to that inci‐ dent, admonishing Justice Minister Matt Wiebe for heckling Stefanson at a legis‐ lature sitting last week, after reading a ruling on a com‐ plaint raised by PC MLA Lau‐ ren Stone.

Wiebe could be heard talking throughout Stefan‐ son's address during an April 17 debate on the Unex‐ plained Wealth Act.

"It is not proper decorum within the chamber to be shouting down members across the chamber," Stefan‐ son said then. "When I started here 23 years ago, it was certainly a much more respectful place back then than it is now."

Lindsey said Thursday that kind of behaviour has become a "growing concern" for him.

"Not only did [Minister Wiebe] do himself and other members a disservice, but the level of disrespect he showed the [Deputy Speaker Tyler Blashko] who repeat‐ edly tried to call him to order, was appalling," Lindsey said.

WATCH | What's next? 'S‐ tay tuned,' says Stefanson:

Wiebe was "one of many who have taken things too far recently … on both sides of the House," the Speaker added.

The minister said during the exchange on April 17 he was responding to a previous interruption, and that there was no breach of the rules.

"I do want to hear her," he said then. "I'm hoping that she's going to take this op‐ portunity to apologize to the people of Manitoba for her deplorable campaign of divi‐ sion, and so now, she has an opportunity to do that." 'Irons in the fire' Stefanson said Thursday while her resignation is the end of her career in elected politics, she will always sup‐ port the Progressive Conserv‐ ative Party.

"It goes back to wanting to end one chapter in my life before starting another chap‐ ter," she said. "I do have some irons in the fire and some exciting things coming in the near future."

However, she would not elaborate on what she plans to do next.

"Stay tuned," she said. "Is‐ n't that what I've always said before?"