Stuart Murray
From Free net encyclopedia
Stuart Murray (born November 24, 1954) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He is the current leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, and is leader of the opposition in the Manitoba legislature. On November 14, 2005, he announced his decision to resign from both positions after a new party leader is chosen.
Contents |
Early life and career
Murray was born in Lestock, Saskatchewan, and raised in Punnichy in the same province. His mother, Jean Murray, was a town councillor. He studied Science at the University of Manitoba, and transferred to Ryerson Polytechnical Institute to further his studies in Architectural Science. He then worked as road manager for the rock band Blood, Sweat and Tears, and in 1982 became media director for the Canadian Opera Company.
Murray began working for Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1985, and moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1989 after being named vice-president of the family-owned Domo Gasoline Corporation. Four years later, he became the company's CEO and president. He was also an organizer for the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party in the elections of 1990, 1995 and 1999. In 1999, Murray served as chair of the World Hockey Junior Championship.
Leader of the Opposition
After eleven years in power, the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives were defeated by Gary Doer's New Democratic Party in the 1999 election. Gary Filmon, the party's leader since 1983, stepped down in 2000.
Although Murray had no personal experience as a politician, he soon became the party establishment's preferred choice to succeed Filmon.Template:Ref Darren Praznik considered running against him, but withdrew well before the scheduled leadership convention.Template:Ref Murray was acclaimed as leader in November 2000, won a by-election in Kirkfield Park shortly thereafter. On December 5, he was sworn in as leader of the opposition.
Murray was criticized for hiring Taras Sokolyk as an advisor in 2002 without telling his caucus. Sokolyk had previously been implicated in a vote-manipulation scheme involving the Independent Native Voice party, and was largely discredited as a political force.Template:Ref
Doer's government was re-elected in the 2003 election, as Murray's Conservatives slipped to 36.31% of the popular vote and 20 seats of the 57-member legislature. This was the party's worst showing since 1953. The NDP made historic inroads in south-end Winnipeg, while the Progressive Conservative Party's support was concentrated in the rural south of the province.
A post-election editorial in the Winnipeg Free Press described Murray as "pleasant and even-tempered" but noted that he "did not make a deep impression on the public either by his work in the legislature or in the election campaign". He had promised to abolish school taxes, but was otherwise criticized for a lack of focus.Template:Ref
Murray remained as party leader after the election. He endorsed the new Conservative Party of Canada in 2004, and campaigned on behalf of Steven Fletcher in the 2004 federal election.Template:Ref Despite concerns about Murray's leadership, the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives voted overwhelmingly against a leadership review in November 2004.Template:Ref
In early 2004-05, Manitoba's labour-managed Crocus Investment Fund stopped trading and was forced into receivership after reports that it had misled shareholders and overstated the values of its assets. Doer's ministry was accused of improper oversight of the fund resulting from its ties to labour interests, and the scandal initially threatened to damage the government's popularity.Template:Ref Instead, it grew to encompass both parties. Murray acknowleged that the Progressive Conservatives had received reports of irregularities at Crocus as early as 2002, but refrained from criticism after assurances from party advisers that the fund was in proper order. Murray had also been warned that some companies associated with the Crocus were donors to the PC Party.Template:Ref These admissions may have prevented Murray from exploiting the scandal to his party's advantage, and the NDP's popularity increased over the PCs increased in the summer of 2005.Template:Ref
On November 5, 2005, a motion calling for a new leadership convention received 45% support from delegates at the Progressive Conservative Party's annual general meeting. Murray acknowledged the vote as disappointing, and called for a leadership convention to be held anyway in light of the close result.Template:Ref He announced on November 14 that he would not be a candidate, and plans to return to the private sector after a new leader is chosen. He will remain Progressive Conservative leader until the convention.Template:Ref
Template:Start box Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:End box
External links
Electoral record
Template:Election FPTP begin |- Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives/row |Progressive Conservative |(x)Stuart Murray |align="right"|4,294 |align="right"|46.72 |align="right"| |align="right"|$20,826.03 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP/row |New Democratic Party |Dennis Kshyk |align="right"|2,855 |align="right"|31.06 |align="right"| |align="right"|$4,760.05 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal/row |Liberal |Brian Head |align="right"|2,042 |align="right"|22.22 |align="right"| |align="right"|$16,471.01 |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes !align="right"|9,191 !align="right"|100.00 !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Rejected and declined votes !align="right"|25 !align="right"| !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Turnout !align="right"|9,216 !align="right"|61.44 !align="right"| !align="right"| |}
Template:Election FPTP begin |- Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives/row |Progressive Conservative |Stuart Murray |align="right"|4,369 |align="right"|53.94 |align="right"| |align="right"|$9,841 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal/row |Liberal |Vic Wieler |align="right"|2,158 |align="right"|26.64 |align="right"| |align="right"|$4,355 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP/row |New Democratic Party |Dawn Thompson |align="right"|1,512 |align="right"|18.67 |align="right"| |align="right"|$4,291 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Libertarian/row |Libertarian |Dennis Rice |align="right"|61 |align="right"|0.75 |align="right"| |align="right"|$0.00 |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes !align="right"|8,100 !align="right"|100.00 !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Rejected and discarded votes !align="right"|25 !align="right"| !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Turnout !align="right"|8,125 !align="right"|55 !align="right"| !align="right"| |}
Notes and sources
- Template:Note Daniel Lett, "Murray dons Filmon's mantle", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 2000, A3.
- Template:Note Sean O'Connor, "Murray wins race of one to lead Tories", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 November 2000, A3.
- Template:Note "Manitoba Tory Leader Stuart Murray may face leadership challenge", Canadian Press, 28 October 2005, 12:42 report.
- Template:Note "Editorial - PCs must plan ahead", Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 2003, A10.
- Template:Note Alexandra Paul, "Fletcher nomination galvanizes Tories", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 March 2004, A4.
- Template:Note Steve Lambert, "Manitoba Tories reject call for leadership review at annual meeting", Canadian Press, 13 November 2004, 18:56 report.
- Template:Note Steve Lambert, "Manitoba government faces questions over its role in troubled investment fund", Canadian Press, 1 June 2005, 17:22 report.
- Template:Note Mia Rabson, "Murray explains Tory silence", Winnipeg Free Press, 1 June 2005, A1.
- Template:Note for instance, Daniel Lett, "Manitoba NDP stretches lead over Tories", 27 June 2005, A3.
- Template:Note Steve Lambert, "Manitoba opposition leader may quit", Globe and Mail, 5 November 2005, Breaking News.
- Template:Note "Tory leader calls it quits", CBC Manitoba, 14 November 2005, 1:42 report. [1]
Much of Murray's biographical information is taken from a webpage formerly hosted by the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party. This page is no longer featured on the party's website, though a cached version may be found here. All electoral data is taken from Elections Manitoba. Expenditures refer to individual candidate expenses.