Former Premier Brian Pallister Honoured with Legislative Portrait
WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Caucus congratulates former Premier of Manitoba Brian Pallister on the unveiling of his official premierial portrait in the Legislature today.
“Brian Pallister was a determined leader who made life more affordable for Manitobans by leaving more money in their pockets,” said Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen, who served as Pallister’s Deputy Premier. “As premier, he led the country in reducing interprovincial trade barriers and saw the importance of Manitoba and Canada being leaders in natural resource development, long before it became the priority it is today.”
“That vision was rewarded with the largest back-to-back majorities in Manitoba history. Brian and his family should be proud of their contributions to Manitoba, and the portrait unveiled today will be a permanent reminder of their dedication to our province.”
Pallister initially served as the PC MLA for Portage la Prairie between 1992 and 1997, and served as the region’s Member of Parliament from 2000 to 2008. Returning to provincial politics in 2012, he was elected PC Leader and the MLA for Fort Whyte.
On Apr. 19, 2016, following nearly two decades of NDP decadence, Pallister led PCs to the largest majority government in Manitoba history since 1915, followed by another strong mandate in 2019.
Committed to affordability, he raised the basic personal exemption, ended bracket creep by indexing personal income taxes to inflation, halved school property taxes, reduced taxes on everyday services, and most notably reversed Greg Selinger’s disastrous PST hike—saving Manitoba families thousands every year.
As one of his first initiatives as premier, Pallister famously led Manitoba into the New West Partnership, expanding Canada’s largest, barrier-free interprovincial market with the lowest exemptions in the country. The landmark agreement was followed by further historic efforts to promote the Manitoba advantage across Canada and the world, grow the province’s burgeoning film and television sector, bolster northern development, boost tourism, create opportunities for all, and put Manitoba on the path to becoming a ‘have’ province.
“For the people of Portage, Brian Pallister is a hometown hero,” said Portage la Prairie MLA Jeff Bereza. “His efforts gave us our new hospital, secured the $460-million expansion of Simplot, brought us one of the largest pea-processing plants in the world, and put our little city on the world map. Brian started in politics with the dream of lifting up the place that raised him, and that is what he did.”
“He helped me way back when I was starting my career in city council, and gave me words of advice that I will always remember: ‘They don’t make statues for critics. They make them for people who make a difference. So go make a difference.’ This portrait is Manitoba’s way of saying thank you to Brian Pallister for making a difference.”
Pallister served as premier until Oct. 4, 2021.
The portrait was painted by renowned Canadian artist Andrew Valko.
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