Jim Carr

The Honourable Jim Carr PC MP OM
Minister of Natural Resources
Incumbent
Assumed office November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Greg Rickford
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Joyce Bateman
1st President and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba
In office January 1998 – January 2014
Succeeded by	Don Leitch
Deputy Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party
In office 1988–1992
Leader	Sharon Carstairs
Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Crescentwood
In office September 11, 1990 – January 27, 1992
Preceded by	Warren Steen
Succeeded by	Avis Gray
Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Fort Rouge
In office April 26, 1988 – September 11, 1990
Preceded by	Roland Penner
Succeeded by	Tim Sale
Executive Director of the Manitoba Arts Council
In office 1973–1974
Personal details
Born	James Gordon Carr October 11, 1951 Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada Manitoba Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	New Democratic Party of Manitoba
Alma mater	University of Manitoba McGill University
Occupation	Businessperson, writer, musician
Religion	Jewish

James Gordon "Jim" Carr, OM PC MP (born October 11, 1951) is a musician and politician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In the 2015 federal election, he was elected to serve as Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre, and currently serves as Minister of Natural Resources in the federal Cabinet, headed by Justin Trudeau.^[1] He was previously a member of Manitoba's legislative assembly from 1988 to 1991, representing the Liberal Party.^[2]

Biography

Carr was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was educated at the University of Manitoba and McGill University. He worked as a journalist, musician and administrator, serving as both an oboist and trustee with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on different occasions. Before entering public life, he was also executive director of the Manitoba Arts Council.^[3]

On June 3, 1969, Carr and four other Young Liberals joined the New Democratic Party of Manitoba so as to support Sidney Green's unsuccessful bid to lead the party. He later returned to the Liberals. During the early to mid 1990's, he worked as a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Provincial politics

Carr first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1986, losing to Progressive Conservative leader Gary Filmon in the upscale west Winnipeg riding of Tuxedo. He ran again in the provincial election of 1988 during a period of increased support for the provincial Liberals, and scored a surprisingly strong victory in the riding of Fort Rouge, defeating NDP cabinet minister Roland Penner by over 2000 votes. The Progressive Conservatives formed a minority government after this election, and Carr became Deputy Leader of the official opposition party.^[4]

Following redistribution, Carr sought re-election in the 1990 provincial election in the riding of Crescentwood, where he defeated Progressive Conservative Tom DeNardi by 1310 votes.^[5] The Liberals fell from twenty seats to seven in this election, and Carr resigned his seat in February 1992.^[6]

Post-provincial politics

From 1992 to 1997, Carr was on the editorial board of the Winnipeg Free Press. In 1998, he became president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba,^[3] an organization which he co-founded. Carr is also a board member on the Canada West Foundation, and the Winnipeg Airports Authority, and well as vice-president of the Performing Arts Consortium of Winnipeg, and a director of the Manitoba Arts Stabilization Fund. Carr, who is Jewish, has also been active in the Canadian Jewish Congress.

In July 2011, Carr was awarded the Order of Manitoba.^[3]

In his role as the President of the Business Council of Manitoba, Carr advocated for a temporary increase to the PST by 1% to assist municipalities with their infrastructure deficits.^[7]

In 2006 the Business Council of Manitoba president Carr advocated for the province to reduce its health costs, which reached as high as 42 per cent of the provincial government’s expenses, and for government officials to keep an open mind to options that included privatization. "Everything is worth studying, and it's studied everywhere around the world. There are advances that have been made in other places, with cultures similar to our own, that could be applied here," said Carr.^[8]

Federal politics

In January 2014, Carr was announced as a candidate for the Liberal nomination in the federal riding of Winnipeg South Centre.^[4] He went on to win the nomination meeting and was declared the Liberal candidate for the 2015 federal election.^[9] He won the subsequent election on October 19, 2015. Two weeks later on November 4, 2015, Carr was officially sworn in to the Cabinet as Minister of Natural Resources.^[10]

Electoral record

Federal

Canadian federal election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Jim Carr	31,993	59.72	+23.13	–
	Conservative	Joyce Bateman	15,102	28.19	-12.96	–
	New Democratic	Matt Henderson	4,799	8.96	-9.39	–
	Green	Andrew Park	1,677	3.13	-0.09	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			53,571	100.0		$201,744.96
Total rejected ballots			188	–	–
Turnout			53,759	–	–
Eligible voters			67,988
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+18.05
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]

Provincial

Manitoba general election, 1990: Crescentwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Jim Carr	5,127	45.65	–
	Progressive Conservative	Tom DeNardi	3,278	32.61	–
	New Democratic	Neil Cohen	2,184	21.74	–
Total valid votes			10,050	100.00

Manitoba general election, 1988: Fort Rouge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Jim Carr	5,127	48.69	+29.22
	New Democratic	Roland Penner	2,912	27.65	-21.21
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Haier	2,303	21.87	-8.09
	Progressive	Gordon Pratt	75	0.70	–
	Libertarian	Dennis Owens	66	0.61	+0.50
	Communist	Nigel Hanrahan	46	0.48	+0.43
Total valid votes			10,529	100.00
	Liberal gain from New Democratic		Swing		+25.22

Manitoba general election, 1986: Tuxedo
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Gary Filmon	5,268	49.08	-15.51
	Liberal	Jim Carr	3,544	33.02	+20.96
	New Democratic	Bill Armstrong	1,816	16.92	-6.42
	Progressive	David Pearlman	104	0.97	–
Total valid votes			10,732	100.00
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-18.24

References

1. Full list of Justin Trudeau's Cabinet, CBC News. Retrieved on Nov. 4, 2015.
2. Adams, Christopher (2008-05-15). Politics in Manitoba: parties, leaders, and voters. Univ. of Manitoba Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-88755-704-0. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
3. "Judges". Future Leaders of Manitoba. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
4. "Federal Liberal hopefuls seek Winnipeg South Centre". CBC News. February 6, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
5. "Lord Roberts". Manitoba Votes 2003 (CBC News). Retrieved 2014-04-30.
6. "MLA Biographies - Living". Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
7. http://www.businesscouncil.mb.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=185:find-courage-and-bite-the-bullet&catid=55:articles&Itemid=105
8. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/business-group-urges-province-to-consider-health-care-privatization-1.577926
9. "Jim Carr wins Liberal nomination for Winnipeg South Centre". Winnipeg Free Press. June 16, 2014.
10. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/full-list-of-justin-trudeau-s-cabinet-1.3300699. Retrieved on Nov. 4th, 2015.
11. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Winnipeg South Centre, 30 September 2015
12. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

http://www.businesscouncil.mb.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=185:find-courage-and-bite-the-bullet&catid=55:articles&Itemid=105