Rochelle Squires is a former Canadian politician who served as the 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 ...

for the riding of Riel from 2016 to 2023. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party, she was first elected in the 2016 Manitoba election, defeating NDP incumbent

Christine Melnick Christine "Chris" Melnick (born 1950) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a cabinet minister in the governments led by New Democratic Party (NDP) Premiers Gary Doer and Greg Selinger. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Melnick received ...

Career

Squires was first elected as MLA for Riel after defeating NDP incumbent

in the April 2016 Manitoba election. The Conservatives also replaced the NDP's

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...

with one of their own. Squires was described by Steve Lambert of ''CBC News'' as "one of the more progressive members of he Conservativecaucus". On May 3, 2016, Brian Pallister took office as the

Premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba () is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council. In formal terms, the premier rec ...

. He appointed Squires to the Executive Council of Manitoba as Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage, Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs, and Minister responsible for Status of Women. On August 17, 2017, Squires was shuffled out of the Ministry of Sport, Culture and Heritage but retained her other titles. In September 2019, she and the PC government were re-elected in that year's provincial election. That October, she became Minister of Municipal Relations and continued her role as Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs. Brian Pallister resigned as premier of Manitoba on September 1, 2021. Subsequently, Premier

Kelvin Goertzen Kelvin Goertzen (born June 12, 1969) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd premier of Manitoba from September to November, 2021. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, he is a member of the Legislative Assembly o ...

selected Squires to serve as Deputy Premier of Manitoba, the position Goertzen himself held before Pallister's resignation. In the

2023 Manitoba general election The 2023 Manitoba general election was held on October 3, 2023, to elect 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The New Democratic Party of Manitoba, led by Wab Kinew, formed a majority government, defeating the two-term Progressive ...

, Squires lost her seat to NDP challenger Mike Moyes, who had unsuccessfully challenged her in 2019. The NDP also replaced the PCs as the governing party. She retired from politics and left the PC party the following day.

Personal life

Squires and her husband Daniel have a combined family of five children and two grandsons. Squires holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in communications from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

, a journalism diploma from Red River College, and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

Electoral record

References

Living people Politicians from Winnipeg Deputy premiers of Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Women MLAs in Manitoba Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Women government ministers of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba {{Manitoba-MLA-stub