Editing Gary Filmon

{{Short description|Premier of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2009}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Gary Filmon
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC|OM|size=100%}}
| image            = 
| order            = 19th
| office           = Premier of Manitoba
| predecessor      = [[Howard Pawley]]
| successor        = [[Gary Doer]]
| monarch          = [[Elizabeth II]]
| lieutenant_governor = [[George Johnson (Manitoba politician)|George Johnson]]<br />[[Yvon Dumont]]<br>[[Peter Liba]]
| deputy           = [[Glen Cummings (politician)|Glen Cummings]]<br />[[James Erwin Downey|James Downey]]
| term_start       = May 9, 1988
| term_end         = October 5, 1999
| office2          = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] for [[Tuxedo (electoral district)|Tuxedo]]<br />{{small|([[River Heights (electoral district)|River Heights]]; 1979–1981)}}
| term_start2      = October 16, 1979
| term_end2        = September 18, 2000
| predecessor2     = [[Sidney Spivak]]
| successor2       = [[Heather Stefanson]]
| birth_name       = Gary Albert Filmon
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1942|08|24}}
| birth_place      = [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba, Canada
| death_date       =
| death_place      =
| spouse           = {{marriage|[[Janice Filmon|Janice Wainwright]]|1963}}
| party            = [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Progressive Conservative]]
| relations        =
| children         = 4
| residence        =
| alma_mater       = [[University of Manitoba]]
| occupation       = [[Civil engineer]]
| profession       =
| cabinet          = Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1981)<br />Minister of Environment (1981)<br />Leader of the Opposition (1983–1988 & 1999–2000)
| committees       =
| portfolio        =
| signature        =
| website          =
}}

'''Gary Albert Filmon''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC|OM}} (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian politician from [[Manitoba]] who served as the 19th [[premier of Manitoba]]. He was the leader of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba]] from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from 1988 to 1999.<ref name="cdnenc">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/gary-filmon/ |title=Filmon, Gary Albert |encyclopedia=[[Canadian Encyclopedia]] |access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref>

==Early life==
Gary Albert Filmon was born in [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba, to working-class parents,<ref name="premiers"/> and is of [[Romanian Canadians|Romanian]] and [[Polish Canadians|Polish]]-[[Ukrainian Canadians|Ukrainian]] background.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples – Poles |url=http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/p6/8 |title=Multicultural Canada. Politics. |publisher=Canadian Heritage. Library and Archives Canada |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206160126/http://multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/p6/8 |archive-date=2010-12-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1990/6/18/local-politics|title=Local Politics. Filmon Reflects The View At Home|work=[[Maclean's]]|author=Greg W. Taylor|date=June 18, 1990|access-date=March 21, 2014}}</ref> His Romanian father [[Anglicisation|anglicized]] the family name from ''Filimon'' to ''Filmon'' when he emigrated westward to Canada.<ref>{{cite book |title=Canadian Folklore, Volume 19, Issue 2|date=1997 |publisher=Folklore Studies Association of Canada|pages=89–90}}</ref>

Filmon was educated at the [[University of Manitoba]] and subsequently worked as a [[civil engineer]].<ref name="cdnenc" /> In 1963, he married [[Janice Filmon|Janice Wainwright]].<ref name="premiers">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_eSERHkDTYC&pg=PA356 |title=Manitoba Premiers of the 19th and 20th Centuries |pages=356–383 |last=Ferguson |first=Barry |author2=Wardhaugh, Robert |year=2010 |isbn=978-0889772168 |publisher=University of Regina Press |access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref>

==Political career==

===Municipal politics===

Filmon entered public life in 1975, being elected to the [[Winnipeg City Council]];<ref name="cdnenc" /> for the next four years, Filmon was a member of Winnipeg's Independent Citizens' Election Committee, an unofficial alliance of centre-right Liberal and Progressive Conservative interests in the city.<ref name="premiers" />

===Provincial politics===

In 1979, Filmon won a [[List of Manitoba by-elections#30th–39th Legislatures (1973–2011)|by-election]] to the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] in the riding of [[River Heights (electoral district)|River Heights]], held after the resignation of former Tory leader [[Sidney Spivak]]. On January 16, 1981, Filmon was appointed [[Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (Manitoba)|Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs]] and [[Minister of Environment (Manitoba)|Minister of Environment]] in the government of [[Sterling Lyon]].<ref name="premiers"/>

Lyon's Tories were defeated later in 1981 by the [[New Democratic Party of Manitoba|New Democratic Party]] under [[Howard Pawley]], though Filmon was re-elected in the new riding of [[Tuxedo (electoral district)|Tuxedo]]. He was elected to replace Lyon as party leader [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership elections#1983 Progressive Conservative leadership convention|in 1983]], defeating [[Brian Ransom (politician)|Brian Ransom]] and [[Clayton Manness]] at a delegated convention. At the time, Filmon was considered to be on the party's progressive wing. Supporters of Ransom would later allege that Filmon's campaign team had sponsored Manness' candidacy as a means of splitting the conservative vote.<ref name="premiers"/>

Filmon's Tories narrowly lost the 1986 election, winning 26 seats against 30 for the NDP. This election was generally regarded as lacking in defining issues, and the two major parties were not seen as having many ideological divisions between them.

==== Premiership ====
Howard Pawley's slender majority government fell in 1988 when disgruntled NDP backbencher [[Jim Walding]] broke ranks and joined the opposition to vote down Pawley's budget. In the [[1988 Manitoba general election|subsequent election]], the [[Manitoba Liberal Party]] rose from one seat to twenty, taking seats away from both the Tories and the NDP in the process. The NDP, led by [[Gary Doer]] (Pawley had resigned after the writs were dropped), fell to 12 seats and third place. The Tories dropped to 25 seats, but nevertheless emerged as the largest party in the legislature. Filmon himself was almost defeated by a Liberal candidate in Tuxedo;<ref name="premiers" /> but he survived by 123 votes. After the NDP agreed to tolerate a PC [[minority government]], Filmon became Premier.

The 1988-1990 parliament was most notable for its debates on the [[Meech Lake Accord]], which would have confirmed the [[Distinct society|distinct status of Quebec within Canada]].  The Pawley government had supported this initiative, but Filmon was initially opposed to it, and the Manitoba assembly refused to ratify the treaty (rather to the embarrassment of [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|federal Tory]] [[Prime Minister]] [[Brian Mulroney]]).  Filmon eventually agreed to a compromise deal negotiated by [[Jean Charest]] in 1990. However, he was a lukewarm supporter of the compromise at best, and it came to nothing when New Democratic MLA [[Elijah Harper]] refused to grant unanimous consent for debate before the bill's deadline.<ref name="cdnenc" /> (Harper objected to the fact that the Accord did not recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples.)

In other matters, Filmon was closer to the policies of the Mulroney government. He supported the [[CUSFTA|1987 free trade initiative]], and worked in favour of the [[Charlottetown Accord]] (a successor to Meech Lake) in 1992.

Filmon called an [[1990 Manitoba general election|election in 1990]], and campaigned on the need for a majority government. Despite the increased unpopularity of the Mulroney government at the federal level, Filmon's Tories were able to win over many voters who had supported the Liberals in 1988.  His party won thirty seats, and the NDP re-emerged as the official opposition with twenty.

While not an ideological conservative in the tradition of [[Margaret Thatcher]], Filmon nonetheless presided over an austerity program of budget cuts.  His government's measures resulted in a [[balanced budget]] in 1995, the province's first in 20 years. Filmon also permitted suburban regions to break away from the amalgamated city of [[Winnipeg]], reversing the policies initiated by the [[Edward Schreyer]] government in the early 1970s.  In 1993, Filmon supported [[Kim Campbell]]'s bid to lead the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]] (''Winnipeg Free Press'', 13 June 1993).

Despite government cuts to social programs and urban development, Filmon's Tories were able to retain their majority in [[1995 Manitoba general election|1995]], losing only one seat.  This was due in part to the unpopularity of [[Bob Rae]]'s NDP government in neighbouring [[Ontario]], and concerns that the Manitoba NDP would govern in a similar manner under Doer if elected.  Subsequently, the Filmon government privatized the province's telephone system, mandated balanced budgets, and took actions limiting the power of teacher's and nurse's unions.  While Filmon avoided the rhetoric of Ontario Premier [[Mike Harris]] (1995–2002), there were nevertheless strong similarities to the reforms instituted by these  governments in the late 1990s.

In the late 1990s, the reputation of the Filmon government was damaged by a scandal involving [[Vote rigging|vote-rigging]] in the 1995 election.  A number of independent "aboriginal issues" candidates were alleged to have been commissioned by Progressive Conservative organizers to run in NDP ridings under the banner of [[Independent Native Voice]] in an attempt to split the left-of-centre vote.  Filmon was not personally implicated, but a number of his senior aides were. Manitoba also experienced increased unemployment during this period, with Filmon's popularity suffering as a result.<ref name="cdnenc"/>

Notwithstanding these setbacks, Filmon sought a fourth mandate in [[1999 Manitoba general election|late 1999]].  During this campaign, he announced that his government would undertake a further right-wing policy shift if re-elected.  He promised half a billion dollars in new tax cuts, while claiming that he could simultaneously re-invest an identical amount into health and education.  This announcement was greeted with skepticism from many voters, and the Tories lost to Doer's NDP by 32 seats to 24 (the Liberals were reduced to one seat, as many Liberal voters from 1995 shifted to the NDP).  Filmon resigned as party leader in 2000, and stood down as an MLA in the same year.

==Post-political career==

Filmon was appointed to the federal [[Security Intelligence Review Committee]] on October 4, 2001, which necessitated an appointment to the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]]. He was promoted to chair of SIRC on June 24, 2005<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?crtr.sj1D=&mthd=advSrch&crtr.mnthndVl=&nid=156899&crtr.dpt1D=&crtr.tp1D=&crtr.lc1D=&crtr.yrStrtVl=&crtr.kw=this%2Bmagazine&crtr.dyStrtVl=&crtr.aud1D=&crtr.mnthStrtVl=&crtr.yrndVl=&crtr.dyndVl= |title=Prime Minister Announces Appointments to the Security Intelligence Review Committee |work=Media Advisory |date=June 24, 2005 |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref> following the retirement of [[Paule Gauthier]].

Filmon has also worked as a business consultant since his retirement from office. In 2003, he was commissioned by the government of [[British Columbia]] to undertake a survey of forest fires in that province. On June 22, 2005, at the Annual General Meeting of the Exchange Industrial Income Fund (EIF.UN-X), Filmon was elected as the chairman of the board of trustees for the ensuing year. Filmon sat on the board of directors of Manitoba's public telephone utility, [[Bell MTS|MTS]], from 2003 until his mandatory retirement in 2015.<ref>[https://about.mts.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2015-MTS-Information-Circular_Sedar.pdf MTS Information Circular]mts.ca {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406032400/http://about.mts.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2015-MTS-Information-Circular_Sedar.pdf |date=2016-04-06 }}</ref>

In February 2006, Filmon was considered to replace [[Frank McKenna]] as Canadian Ambassador to the United States.  In the end, [[Michael Wilson (Canadian politician)|Michael Wilson]] was appointed to this post.

In 2009, he was made an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]] "for his contributions to public office and to the province of Manitoba, as well as for his continuing leadership on numerous provincial and national boards, committees and organizations".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13469|title=Governor General Announces 57 New Appointments to the Order of Canada|work=Office of the Secretary to the Governor General|access-date=2009-12-30|date=December 30, 2009}}</ref>

He is married to [[Janice Filmon]], who was [[lieutenant governor of Manitoba]] from 2015 to 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Janice-Filmon-will-be-sworn-in-as-Manitobas-lieutenant-governor-on-June-19-301129281.html|title=Janice Filmon will be sworn in as Manitoba's lieutenant-governor on June 19|date=23 April 2015|website=Winipegfreepress.com|access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref> For the duration of his spouse's term in that office, Gary Filmon was styled "His Honour".

==References==
<references/>

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|ca-mb}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sidney Spivak]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Legislative Assembly<br/>for [[River Heights (electoral district)|River Heights]]|years=1979–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Warren Steen]]}}
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Legislative Assembly for [[Tuxedo (electoral district)|Tuxedo]]|years=1981–2000}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Heather Stefanson]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before= }}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of the Environment|years=1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jay Cowan]]|as=Minister responsible for<br/>Environmental Management}}
{{s-bef|before= }}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs|years=1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Eugene Kostyra]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sterling Lyon]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition (Manitoba)|Leader of the Opposition]]|years=1983–1988}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sharon Carstairs]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Howard Pawley]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Premier of Manitoba]]|years=1988–1999}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gary Doer]]|rows=2}}
{{s-bef|before=}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Federal/Provincial Relations|years=1988–1999}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Gary Doer]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition (Manitoba)|Leader of the Opposition]]|years=1999–2000}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bonnie Mitchelson]]}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Paule Gauthier]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[Security Intelligence Review Committee]]|years=2005–2010}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Arthur Porter (physician)|Arthur Porter]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sterling Lyon]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the<br/>[[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba]]|years=1983–2000}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bonnie Mitchelson]] (interim)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Manitoba PC Leaders}}
{{MBPremiers}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filmon, Gary}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Romanian descent]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Ukrainian descent]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Manitoba]]
[[Category:Premiers of Manitoba]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs]]
[[Category:Winnipeg city councillors]]
[[Category:University of Manitoba alumni]]