Ben Sveinson (born August 4, 1945) is a former politician in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He served as a member of the

Manitoba legislature The Manitoba Legislature is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor of Manitoba, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada) and the unicameral assemb ...

from 1990 to 1999 as a Progressive Conservative. The son of August Sveinson and Mary Gibson, he was born in Spearhill, Manitoba. He attended secondary school in Moosehorn, and did not attend university. He subsequently worked as a federal meat inspector, and operated businesses in towing, security and TV antenna installation. In 1967, Sveinson married Millie Prokopich. Sveinson was elected as a school trustee in

Seine River The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

in 1986, and re-elected in 1989. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the general election of 1990, beating his nearest opponent by about 1,000 votes in the rural southeastern riding of La Verendrye. Sveinson was re-elected in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

by about 2,000 votes over his nearest opponent. He was never appointed to

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (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 ...

's cabinet, though he did serve as Deputy Chair of Committees for a time. The Progressive Conservatives, who had governed the province since

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, were defeated by the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in the 1999 provincial election. Sveinson was upset in La Verendrye, losing to NDP candidate

Ron Lemieux Ron Lemieux, (born August 15, 1950) is a Canadian politician, who was an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1999 to 2016, and a former professional ice hockey player. Biography Born in Dauphin, Manitoba, Lemieux was ...

by 166 votes. Sveinson did not seek to return to office in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. Following his defeat, Sveinson joined the real estate firm Century 21. He also joined the federal Progressive Conservative riding association executive in the riding of

Provencher Provencher is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1871. It is a largely rural constituency in the province's southeast corner. Its largest community is the city of ...

. In 2003, he led the executive in a unanimous vote ''against'' a political merger with the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the ...

, and declared his support for

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

's (ultimately unsuccessful) attempts to prevent the merger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sveinson, Ben 1945 births Canadian people of Icelandic descent Living people People from Ste. Anne, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba