Editing Rod Bruinooge (section)

=== Candidate ===
Bruinooge was a frequent candidate for public office before his election in 2006.  He first sought the provincial [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Progressive Conservative]] nomination for [[Riel (electoral district)|Riel]] in 2002, but withdrew when it became clear that the nomination date would be in flux for some time.<ref>Mia Rabson, "Tories look for answers in membership dispute", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 2 November 2002, A6.</ref>

He later campaigned as the Conservative candidate for Winnipeg South in the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004 federal election]].  One of his more creative campaign advertisements was a self-directed, fifteen-second promotional film entitled "Big Tobacco", which compared [[Paul Martin]]'s efforts at government renewal to misleading tobacco advertising.  The spot ran as a preview for [[Shrek 2]] in some Winnipeg theatres.<ref>Frank Landry, "Campaign trailers", ''Winnipeg Sun'', 26 May 2004.</ref>

Bruinooge was one of only three aboriginal candidates to run for the Conservative Party in the 2004 election.  The Conservative Party has sometimes been depicted as hostile to aboriginal interests, and at one point in the campaign Bruinooge and party leader [[Stephen Harper]] were the targets of a protest by aboriginal activists, including [[David Chartrand]] of the [[Manitoba Métis Federation]].<ref>Len Kruzenga, "Listen to natives, not just their leaders", ''National Post'', 15 July 2004, A18.</ref>  Bruinooge finished second in the election against [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] incumbent [[Reg Alcock]].

Bruinooge sought the Conservative nomination for Winnipeg South for a second time in the spring of 2005, but lost to rival candidate [[Hugh McFadyen]] by a narrow margin.<ref>Bill Redekop, "Tory stronghold claimed by mayor's former aide", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 October 2005, B3.</ref>  A few months later, he was defeated by McFadyen a second time in a contest for the provincial Progressive Conservative nomination in [[Fort Whyte]].<ref>[http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mb_fort-whyte-20051019 "McFadyen to represent Tories in Fort Whyte", CBC Manitoba, 19 October 2005, 07:55 report.] </ref>  Once again, McFadyen won by a very narrow margin.

McFadyen resigned his federal nomination when he chose to run provincially, and Bruinooge was chosen as the Conservative candidate in his place.  His candidacy was endorsed on January 18, 2006 by [[Vote Marriage Canada]], a group which opposes [[Same-sex marriage in Canada|same-sex marriage]].<ref>"Vote Marriage Canada announces fifty pro-marriage candidates in the Prairie Provinces and the N.W.T." (official press release), ''Canada NewsWire'', 08:40 report, 18 January 2006.</ref>  Although Bruinooge is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation, that organization endorsed Reg Alcock.<ref>Leah Janzen, "Alcock the target for years", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 25 January 2005, A12.</ref>

Bruinooge defeated Alcock by 111 votes on election day,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/alcock-unseated-by-conservative-in-winnipeg-south-1.573428|title=Alcock unseated by Conservative in Winnipeg South|work=CBC News|date=24 January 2006|accessdate=2014-12-12}}</ref> in what most political observers described as a significant upset.<ref>The ''[[Winnipeg Sun]]'' later described Bruinooge's victory as "the biggest political upset of the decade". Kevin Engstrom, "Top 50 Stories of the Decade". "Winnipeg Sun", 24 December 2009.</ref>  Bruinooge was aided by a national trend toward his party, as well as by Alcock's decision to spend most of his time canvassing with Liberal candidates in other ridings.<ref>Daniel Lett, "Winnipeg South/Reg Alcock", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 24 January 2006, B7.</ref>