Jackson takes reins from Maguire

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/03/2025 (366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last few days have been tumultuous ones for conservatives in western Manitoba.

Less than two hours after Prime Minister Mark Carney dropped the writ for a federal election on Sunday, Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire had announced he would not be seeking re-election.

And then, less then 24 hours later, Manitobans learned that Grant Jackson, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Spruce Woods, had resigned his seat, having been appointed by the party to run in his cousin’s stead.

“Yeah, it’s been a wild 24 to 28 hours, I guess you’d say,” Jackson told the Sun Monday afternoon. “It’s been an emotional day, too.”

Maguire told the Sun on Sunday that he learned of a concerning health issue on Friday that would likely impact his ability to participate in the upcoming campaign, and had decided to not seek re-election as a result.

“Larry called me (Sunday) morning and gave me a heads up as a mentor and a friend about what he was going to be posting publicly,” said Jackson, who described Maguire as “a distant cousin of my mother’s.”

“Obviously, I am deeply concerned for him. He is somebody that I care very much about. The news that he has is not good.”

Shortly after that conversation, Jackson said he was contacted by the federal Conservative party and asked if he would be willing to serve as their candidate in the upcoming federal general election.

“I had a very brief amount of time to think that over, and I am very proud to have said yes.”

Jackson, who was serving as education critic for the official Opposition in the Manitoba legislature, was partway through his first term in office. He worked in various political support roles for the former Progressive Conservative government, as well as for Maguire as a political staffer.

Jackson’s resignation was announced yesterday by Speaker Tom Lindsey in the Manitoba legislature.

Should he win election on April 28, Jackson, at 28, would become the youngest-serving MP to represent Brandon-Souris in the Manitoba riding’s history since its creation in 1953.

Normal party election rules call for a candidate nomination process so that local party members can choose their representative for an upcoming election. But Maguire only made his decision official within hours of the election being called, meaning that the party was able to simply appoint someone because the campaign window is so short.

“Basically the rules outline that if and when a general election is called — not a byelection, it has to be a general election that’s called — that the normal rules and procedures of nomination processes become null and void,” said Brandon-Souris Electoral District Association president Jordan Sisson on Monday.

“And it’s up to essentially the campaign team to make recommendations to the executive director of the party and the president of the party.”

Sisson said there were about nine individuals who contacted him on Sunday afternoon who were interested in applying for nomination papers. While Sisson said the lack of a nomination race was very unfortunate due to the timing, the circumstances demanded that the executive act as quickly as possible in the best interests of the party.

“Locally, I think it’s just about reassuring people that we have to as a party and as supporters of the party, we have to have some faith in the process that parties have internally,” Sisson said. “And you know, just because on the surface suddenly there’s a resignation, and then you know, suddenly now there’s an appointment … I don’t think anyone should be naive to the fact that there was due diligence done.”

For his part, Jackson says he would have welcomed a nomination race had the chance been offered. Having ran and won such a nomination race two years ago, he said he would not have been afraid to go through another.

“But that’s not the situation that I was presented with,” Jackson said. “I know there will be concerns. And all I can say to people is that the federal party asked me to serve, and I have said ‘yes, I would be honoured to be their candidate.’

“And now I’m going to get to work and earn people’s votes.”

Canada currently finds itself in a tariff-fuelled trade war with the United States, even while U.S. President Donald Trump talks about Canada becoming the “51st state” through annexation.

Jackson said he will support Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s vision for how to deal with the economic threat facing Canada, but he intends to fully represent Brandon-Souris and push forward the economic interests of the region. At the top of his list is furthering the reach of the Brandon Municipal Airport, which he noted was upgraded some years ago thanks in part to work done by Maguire and Maguire’s predecessor, Merv Tweed, in securing federal funding.

“I think that facility is such an asset, and there’s so much more that we could be doing that would grow the economy of not just the Wheat City, but the whole region. That is very high on my priority list.”

Jackson also noted that there is tremendous potential in tearing down provincial trade barriers, and how that could impact the construction of east-west pipelines.

“I think in the oil and gas sector, there is a lot of economic potential in Westman, and in the Brandon-Souris constituency.”

When asked whether national and international frictions would be the driving force behind voter decisions in Brandon-Souris, and potentially hurt his party’s message, Jackson said that these are “unusual times.”

“There are national implications to any election or in provincial elections,” Jackson said. “(But) these are unprecedented times. I mean, a threatened trade war by our closest ally is completely unheard of. And so, you know, those will weigh in on an election.

“But I think it’s important that we get out there and talk about our plan, the Conservative Party of Canada’s plan, to Trump-proof Canada’s economy.

“I think that’s the right plan to take us forward.”

» mgoerzen@brandonsun.com

» Bluesky: @mattgoerzen.bsky.social