Manitoba Tory Myrna Driedger not seeking re-election
Posted January 4, 2023 1:54 pm.
Last Updated January 4, 2023 6:42 pm.
Another Manitoba Progressive Conservative has announced they will not seek re-election.
Myrna Driedger, one of the longest-serving legislature members who has been speaker for the last several years, says she will not run for office again in the election slated for Oct. 3.
Driedger says after almost 25 years in public office, the time has come for new adventures.
She has represented an area of west Winnipeg since 1998, acted as health critic in Opposition, and was chosen as speaker after the Tories took office in 2016.
She joins several other Tories who have recently announced plans to leave politics, including cabinet ministers Eileen Clarke, Cliff Cullen and Alan Lagimodiere.
WATCH: Several Manitoba PC MLAs not seeking re-election in 2023
Driedger says she is proud to have worked to help reduce barriers for women entering politics.
“I developed a deep commitment to addressing this deficit through my provincial, national and international positions with the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,” Driedger wrote in a statement on her website.
“It culminated in my appointment as president of (Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians) International in 2022.”
Opinion polls for more than a year have suggested the governing Tories are trailing the Opposition NDP in public support, especially in Winnipeg, where most legislature seats are.
Driedger says she will continue to serve out her term until the election.
