Reginald C. Atkinson (born March 9, 1948) is a businessman and 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. He was the Mayor of

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

, from 1997 to 2002 and campaigned for 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 ...

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 ...

Early life and career

Atkinson was mayor of

Hartney, Manitoba Hartney is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Grassland within the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba that held town status prior to January 1, 2015. It lies along the banks of the Souris Riv ...

, from 1981 to 1989 and owned a small farming implements business in this community before relocating to Brandon in 1994."His Honour, Mr. Business", ''Manitoba Business'', 1 March 1999, p. 14. He was elected as Mayor of Brandon in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on September 24, 1997, after the previous mayor,

Rick Borotsik Rick Borotsik (born September 8, 1950) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as Mayor of Brandon from 1989 to 1997, was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manit ...

, was elected to the

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. Atkinson was 49 years old.

Mayor of Brandon

;Hog processing In late 1999, the president of

Maple Leaf Foods Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a Canadian multinational consumer-packaged meats and food production company. Its head office is in Mississauga, Ontario. History Maple Leaf Foods is the result of the 1991 merger between Canada Packers and Maple ...

announced that Brandon had been selected out of 42 possible communities for the construction of a $112 million hog processing plant. Atkinson welcomed the decision, saying that it could increase the city's population by 10,000 (to 50,000) in a short period of time. Maple Leaf selected Brandon, in part, because it was known to be one of the least expensive areas in Canada to raise hogs. Atkinson spoke against a proposed Clean Environment Commission review of the Maple Leaf project in 1998, describing it as a stalling tactic, and supported provincial

Environment Minister An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of a ...

Jim McCrae's conclusion that a formal review would not be necessary during the construction phase. He also opposed a request from councillors in the nearby Long Plain First Nation for a federal environmental assessment. Construction of the plant began in April 1998, and operations began in August 1999. Atkinson was easily re-elected in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, defeating two minor challengers who criticized aspects of the Maple Leaf deal. The following year, he the led council in approving a plan for the city to own and operate a wastewater treatment plant to serve the Maple Leaf facility. The project ultimately cost $13.5 million (some of which was paid by the province), and was derided by critics as "

corporate welfare Corporate welfare refers to government financial assistance, Subsidy, subsidies, tax breaks, or other favorable policies provided to private businesses or specific industries, ostensibly to promote economic growth, job creation, or other public b ...

". The city administrator responded to this charge by arguing that most of the money went to improving Brandon's existing capacity for water and wastewater treatment. ;Other issues Atkinson helped coordinate other projects for the city.

Simplot The J. R. Simplot Company (commonly referred to as Simplot) is an agribusiness company headquartered in Boise, Idaho, United States. History Simplot was founded in 1929 by 20-year-old John Richard Simplot near the agricultural community of D ...

opened a new Brandon facility in 1999, setting up a $230 million plant for liquid and granular fertilizers. The

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

firm Installatie Techniek Boxmeer set up a plant to manufacture livestock ventilation equipment in the same period. Atkinson rejected at least two proposals from aboriginal groups to construct a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

in Brandon. He opposes casinos on principle, arguing that they contribute to gambling addictions and provide few social benefits in return. He also opposes the separate taxation system for

urban reserve An urban Indian reserve () or urban First Nations reserve () is land that the Government of Canada has designated as a First Nations reserve that is situated within an urban area. Such lands allow for aboriginal commercial ventures which enj ...

lands and believes that

aboriginal Canadians Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, representing roughly 5.0% of the total Canadian population. There are over ...

should fall under the same tax apparatus as non-aboriginals. Notwithstanding his views on casinos, Atkinson supported using Video Lottery Terminals to raise revenues and rejected calls for a plebiscite on the issue. Atkinson was a prominent supporter of a plan to move

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

to the Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Brandon and welcomed

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Art Eggleton Arthur C. Eggleton (born September 29, 1943) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 59th and longest-serving mayor of Toronto from 1980 to 1991. He was elected to Parliament in 1993, running as a Liberal in York Centre and served ...

's decision to approve the transfer in early 2001. Late in his term, Atkinson led a council in approving a comprehensive by-law against indoor smoking, with no age limits or exemptions for bars. ;Style Atkinson promoted a "down-to-earth" and populist approach to politics. He wore a loud yellow shirt and happy face tie to an all-candidates debate in 1998 and was quoted as saying, "I don't use a lot of big words because I don't know them". The journal ''Manitoba Business'' once described his political style as "gregarious". ;Retirement from municipal politics Atkinson unexpectedly announced that he would not seek re-election in 2002. Atkinson is the current Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis, which surrounds Brandon on three sides.

Federal and provincial politics

Atkinson sought 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 ...

nomination to contest

Brandon—Souris Brandon—Souris is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. Demographics :''According to the 2011 Canadian census'' Languages: 85.8% English, 4.3% German, 2.3 ...

in the 2000 federal election. He unexpectedly lost to Gary Nestibo. He campaigned for the

as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Brandon West and lost to

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 ...

incumbent Scott Smith by a wide margin.Mike McIntyre, "NDP scores historic victory in Brandon", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 4 June 2003, B2.

Electoral record

113 of 121 polls reporting Atkinson was elected mayor of Hartney in either 1980 or 1981 and re-elected in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. All provincial election information is taken from

Elections Manitoba Elections Manitoba () is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba responsible for the conduct and regulation of provincial elections in Manitoba. Its responsibilities are to operate free of political influence; conduct Manitoba's ...

. The 1998 mayoral results are taken from the ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 29 October 1998, A13. The final results did not significantly change Atkinson's margin of victory.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Reg 1948 births Living people Businesspeople from Brandon, Manitoba Mayors of Brandon, Manitoba 20th-century mayors of places in Manitoba 21st-century mayors of places in Manitoba