Rosann Wowchuk (née Harapiak; born August 15, 1945) is a former

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 ...

politician, 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

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 ...

governments of

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 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 ...

and

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a former Canadian 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 ...

. The daughter of William Harapiak and Mary Philipchuk, she was born Rosann Harapiak in Cowan, Manitoba. She attended Manitoba Teacher's College, and subsequently worked as a teacher and farmer. In 1968, she married Sylvestor Wowchuk. She served as a municipal councillor and deputy reeve in the mid-northern community of Swan River from 1983 to 1990. Her brothers,

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

and

Harry Harapiak Harry Myrislaw Harapiak (September 17, 1938 – November 14, 2000) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1981 to 1990, and was a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party gove ...

, were both NDP cabinet ministers during the 1980s. Wowchuk was first elected to 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 ...

in the 1990 provincial election, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Parker Burrell in the riding of Swan River. She was re-elected in the 1995 election, defeating Tory candidate Fred Betcher by only 36 votes. There are many who believe that

Independent Native Voice Independent Native Voice, also known as Native Voice, was a short-lived political party in Manitoba, Canada. It was created in 1995 to address aboriginal issues, and ran three candidates in the 1995 provincial election. Native Voice was not regist ...

candidate Nelson Contois, who received 118 votes, was encouraged to run by local Tory organizers in an attempt to split the riding's left-of-centre vote. Also in 1995, Wowchuk supported

Lorne Nystrom Lorne Edmund Nystrom (born April 26, 1946) is a Canadian politician and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2004. He is a member of the New Democratic Party. Parliamentary career Nystrom was ...

's campaign to become leader of the federal

. After spending nine years as an opposition MLA, Wowchuk moved to the government benches in 1999 after

's NDP won a parliamentary majority. She was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Food on October 5, 1999, and held this portfolio for the entirety of the Doer government's first term. In 2003, she supported

Bill Blaikie William Alexander "Bill" 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 ...

's campaign to become leader of the federal NDP. Wowchuk was easily re-elected in the provincial election of 2003, and was named deputy premier three days later. Retaining the agriculture portfolio, she was given ministerial responsibility for Intergovernmental Affairs and Cooperative Development on June 25. On November 4, the name of her ministry was changed to Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, and she was relieved of responsibilities for Intergovernmental Affairs. Although Wowchuk opposed the decision of

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 government to eliminate the "single-desk" marketing of hog farms, she did not reverse the policy upon joining government. In 2004, she rejected a request from the Manitoba Cattle Producers that all livestock animals killed in a proposed

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 ...

plant be tested for BSE. Wowchuk was also named acting Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Trade on May 18, 2004, following the resignation of Mary Ann Mihychuk. She retained this position until October 22, 2004. Wowchuk was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election. On July 4, 2011, she announced that she will not run in the next provincial election. Wowchuk is not related to current Swan River MLA Rick Wowchuk, despite the fact that the two share the same surname.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wowchuk, Rosann 1945 births Living people Deputy premiers of Manitoba New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in Manitoba Canadian people of Ukrainian descent 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Ministers of finance of Manitoba Female finance ministers 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba