Gerald Ducharme (born March 21, 1939) is a former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in Manitoba,

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 was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

from 1986 to 1995, and was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the government of Progressive Conservative

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 from 1988 to 1995.

Early life and career

The son of Jean Louis Ducharme and Mackalena Andreychuk, Ducharme was born in Winnipeg in 1939. He was educated in St. Vital and at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

, and worked as an insurance broker and real estate dealer before entering public life. He was a member of the ''Winnipeg Real Estate Board'' and the ''Manitoba Brokers Association''. He began his political career as a school trustee for the St. Vital School Board and was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in Winnipeg from 1980 to 1986. He married Yvonne Normandeau in 1963.

Political career

Ducharme was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1986 provincial election, defeating incumbent New Democrat Doreen Dodick in the south-end Winnipeg seat of Riel. The NDP won the election, and Ducharme sat in the opposition benches for the next two years. The NDP were unexpectedly defeated in the legislature in 1988, and the Progressive Conservatives managed to form a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

after the election which followed. Ducharme faced a difficult challenge from Liberal Chris Sigurdson, winning by only 324 votes (the Liberals made strong inroads into both Tory and NDP ridings in this cycle). On May 9, 1988, Ducharme was appointed Manitoba Minister of Urban Affairs and Manitoba Minister of Housing. Liberal support declined in the provincial election of 1990, and Ducharme was re-elected in Riel with an increased majority. Following a cabinet shuffle on February 5, 1991, he was named Manitoba Minister of Government Services, responsible for Seniors. Ducharme resigned from cabinet on March 20, 1995, and was not a candidate in the subsequent election. He has not run for provincial or federal office since this time.

Post political career

In 1998, Ducharme was made Chairman of the Manitoba Municipal Board. He stepped down from this position in 2000, shortly after the NDP under

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

were returned to power.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducharme, Gerry Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs 1939 births Living people Franco-Manitoban people Politicians from Winnipeg Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba