Eric Robinson (born February 5, 1953) is an Aboriginal politician in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, Canada. He was previously a member of the

Manitoba legislature The Legislature of Manitoba is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the King of Canada in Right of Manitoba, represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and the unicameral ...

, and a cabinet minister in the New Democratic government of

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government o ...

. Born in Norway House, Manitoba, he was placed in a residential school at the age of five. Robinson is a member of the Cross Lake First Nation, covered under

Treaty 5 ''Treaty Five'' is a treaty that was first established in September, 1875, between Queen Victoria and Saulteaux and Swampy Cree non-treaty band governments and peoples around Lake Winnipeg in the District of Keewatin. A written text is includ ...

. Robinson worked at a variety of jobs including dishwasher in Churchill, an addiction counsellor in British Columbia and a radio

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

. He has been active in Aboriginal issues for several years, and has worked for the

Assembly of First Nations The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations (Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood, wh ...

and the Brotherhood of Indian Nations, as well as other organizations promoting native rights within Canada. Before entering provincial politics, Robinson was also a producer and broadcaster for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governme ...

, and worked for Native Communications Incorporated. In 1985, he co-authored a work entitled ''Infested Blanket'', an historical indictment of the Canadian government's past dealings with Aboriginal peoples. Robinson entered provincial politics on September 21, 1993, winning a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

in the northern riding of Rupertsland (he replaced Elijah Harper in the assembly). Running for the NDP, Robinson received 1697 votes; his closest opponent, Liberal George Munroe, received 1023. Robinson was easily re-elected in the provincial election of 1995, and served as the NDP's critic for Aboriginal and Northern Affairs. Also in 1995, he supported Lorne Nystrom for leader of the federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

. After the NDP won a majority government in the 1999 election,

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 Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 19 October 2009, to 3 March 2016. Doer previously served as the 20th p ...

named Robinson Minister of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs with responsibility for the Communities Economic Development Fund on October 5, 1999. Following a cabinet shuffle on September 25, 2002, he became Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism with responsibility for

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. In 2003, Robinson supported

Bill Blaikie William Alexander Blaikie (June 19, 1951 – September 24, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings in the House of Commons of Canad ...

's campaign to become leader of the federal NDP. In the 2003 provincial election, Robinson was re-elected with over 86% of the vote in his riding. He was returned again in the 2007 election. In 2007, he was reassigned as Minister of Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport.

Election history

2016 Manitoba general election

2011 Manitoba general election

2007 Manitoba general election

2003 Manitoba general election

1999 Manitoba general election

References

External links

Biography from the Manitoba NDP Caucus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Eric 1953 births Living people New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs First Nations politicians Deputy premiers of Manitoba Indspire Awards 21st-century Canadian politicians