Linda West

Linda West
Nationality	Canadian
Education	Laurentian University University of Toronto Washington International University
Occupation	Administrator, activist, politician
Employer	Actyl Group
Known for	Conservative Party of Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Political party	Conservative
Movement	Healthcare reform

Linda West is a Canadian administrator, activist and politician. She is perhaps best known for her support of people immigrating to Western Canada.^[1] She has been a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada and the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.

Education

West has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Laurentian University and a Master of Business Administration specializing in Health Care from the University of Toronto.^[2] She also holds a Ph.D. from Washington International University. ^[3]

Career

West was executive director of the James Bay General Hospital from 1992 to 1995, and of the Winnipeg River Health District from 1995 to 1997. From 1997 to 2000, she was executive director of labour relations for Manitoba Health.^[4] She has also been a health policy consultant for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, and has taught nursing and business at the University of Manitoba.^[5]

In 2003, West helped organize a conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the role of women in politics.^[6] She received a Women of Distinction Award from the Winnipeg YMCA-YWCA in 2004, and was later chosen as the local director of Equal Voice, a group that promotes the increased participation of women in political life.^[7] West authored the Trends and Issues in Health Care.^[8] In 2006, she helped organize a rebuilding effort in New Orleans for Habitat For Humanity.^[9]

In July 2007, West was hired as executive director for employment services in the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region's Human Resources Department. She was named acting vice-president of Human Resources in August of the same year, and became vice-president in December. West left employment with the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region on 21 February 2008.^[10] West also became vice-president of Human Resources with a recruitment agency that provides Canadian placements to migrant workers from the Philippines, in 2007.^[11] She argued in 2008 that Canada needs overseas recruitment to counter a domestic labour shortage.^[12] West co-founded Actyl Group, a human resource recruitment agency. She serves as the company president.^[13]

West returned to the University of Manitoba in 2015 to teach in the Asper School of Business.^[14]

Activist and political candidate

West first ran for public office in the 2003 provincial election, as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party. She initially sought the party's nomination for Riel, but lost to former Member of the Legislative Assembly Shirley Render at a nomination meeting in late 2002.^[15] During the nomination contest, one PC insider suggested that West's views on private health care would be a liability for the party.^[16]

West subsequently convened a public meeting on Manitoba's physician shortage, which was held at Winnipeg's Transcona Inn in early 2003. During the question and answer session, she announced that she was considering a candidacy in the division of Radission. The political overtones of this meeting were noted in a newspaper report, though West denied that it had been called for political purposes.^[17] She won the Radisson nomination, but lost to New Democratic Party candidate Bidhu Jha in the general election.

The Manitoba Nurses' Union criticized West in late 2003, after she led a group of her own fourth-year undergraduate students in a rally outside the provincial legislature supporting an on-the-job training program. It was alleged that the students received a portion of their grade for participating in the rally, but West said that her students were taught to review both sides of the issue.^[18]

West was a supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada at the federal level, and supported its merger with the more right-wing Canadian Alliance to create the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003.^[19] She ran for the new party in the 2006 federal election, and finished second against New Democratic Party incumbent Bill Blaikie in Elmwood—Transcona. West's Ph.D. credentials became a source of controversy during the 2006 federal election because Washington International University is an institution that is licensed but not accredited by any educational oversight body in Canada or the United States of America.^[3]

West challenged Bidhu Jha a second time in the 2007 provincial election, initially centering her campaign around local opposition to a hog-processing plant planned for construction in the Radisson area. The NDP government withdrew its support for the project during the election, and indicated that the plant would not be built. Some NDP insiders nevertheless expressed concern that their early support for the unpopular project had made the seat vulnerable.^[20] On election day, however, Jha defeated West by an increased margin.

Health care

West has written several articles calling for Manitoba and Canada to develop new strategic plans for health care delivery. She supports the Canada Health Act.^[21]

West and provincial Health Minister Dave Chomiak engaged in a public controversy over health care strategies in late 2001 and early 2002.^[22] In the same period, West argued that Manitobans should pay health-care premiums instead of paying for health expenses through general taxation.^[23]

West returned to writing opinion pieces on Canada's health-care system after the 2003 election. She reiterated her support for publicly funded private clinics, and criticized the provincial government's approach to the issue.^[24] She was also a vocal opponent of Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray's tax policies, which she spoke against at several public meetings.^[25]

Electoral record

Manitoba general election, 2007: Radisson
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Bidhu Jha	4,804	56.72	+4.27	$38,067.77
	Progressive Conservative	Linda West	2,988	35.28	−3.85	$31,483.45
	Liberal	Murray Cliff	677	7.99	−0.43	none reported
Total valid votes			8,469	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			57
Turnout			8,526	60.33	+6.28
Electors on the lists			14,132

Canadian federal election, 2006: Elmwood—Transcona
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Bill Blaikie	16,967	50.85	−1.14	$40,314.57
	Conservative	Linda West	10,720	32.13	+6.02	$68,007.66
	Liberal	Tanya Parks	4,108	12.31	−4.50	$12,622.61
	Green	Tanja Hutter	1,211	3.63	+1.17	$240.77
	Christian Heritage	Robert Scott	363	1.09	−0.23	$706.54
Total valid votes			33,369	100.00
Total rejected ballots			133	0.40	+0.13
Turnout			33,502	58.20	+7.55
Electors on the lists			57,561
	New Democratic	Swing	−3.58
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

Manitoba general election, 2003: Radisson
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Bidhu Jha	3,888	52.45	−2.57	$26,913.04
	Progressive Conservative	Linda West	2,901	39.13	+6.17	$17,661.88
	Liberal	Murray Cliff	624	8.42	−3.60	$2,277.16
Total valid votes			7,413	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			37
Turnout			7,450	54.05
Electors on the lists			13,783

All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada and Elections Manitoba. Provincial expenditures refer to candidate expenses. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.

References

1. "Immigration makes Saskatoon fastest growing Canadian city". Canada Updates. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
2. "Health care, education, housing, workers' rights key issues in riding", Winnipeg Free Press, 16 January 2006, A10.
3. Leah Janzen, "Tory candidate's PhD comes under scrutiny", Winnipeg Free Press, 14 January 2006, A15.
4. Helen Fallding, "MDs are in a rush to leave", Winnipeg Free Press, 12 August 1999, A1.
5. Mia Rabson, "Conservative party memberships in Riel skyrocket", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 October 2002, A7.
6. Leah Janzen, "A course in politics for women", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 November 2003, B4.
7. Carolin Vesely, "They all make a difference", Winnipeg Free Press, 6 May 2004, A3; David O'Brien, "Boost women in politics: group", Winnipeg Free Press, 13 March 2005, A5.
8. "Activist will run", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 February 2003, B1.
9. "Habitat helpers", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 January 2007, A11.
10. "New leadership for Human Resources" (PDF). e-link. Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
11. Linda West - Professional Website, 2008 accessed 30 July 2008. West had previously done recruitment work in the Philippines with the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region. See Pamela Cowan, "Health region recruits in the Philippines", Regina Leader-Post, 17 November 2007, A5.
12. Interview with Linda West, Frontier Centre for Public Policy, 19 May 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
13. "McDonalds & Subway now hiring Belizeans for Canada". Belize News 5. April 9, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
14. "Class Schedule Listing". University of Manitoba. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
15. Mia Rabson, "Render wins nomination to run for Tories in Riel", Winnipeg Free Press, 13 December 2002, A7.
16. Daniel Lett, "Membership dispute delays Tory vote", Winnipeg Free Press, 1 November 2002, A1.
17. Alexandra Paul, "West eyes Radisson riding in run for office", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 February 2003, A5; Linda West, "NDP was invited to health panel" [letter], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 February 2003, A15.
18. Mia Rabson, "Nursing students rally for job training", Winnipeg Free Press, 4 December 2003, B1.
19. Linda West, "Conservative-Alliance merger rare chance for political rebirth", Winnipeg Free Press, 10 December 2003, A15.
20. "12 key areas to watch this election", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 April 2007, A6; Mary Agnes Welch, "Intravenous drug clinic to open in Transcona", Winnipeg Free Press, 15 May 2007, A6.
21. Linda West, "Health-care management needs constant renewal", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 May 2001, A11.
22. Dave Chomiak, "Manitoba Health keys on prevention" [letter], Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 2001, A11; Linda West, "Chomiak should read evidence", Winnipeg Free Press, 15 January 2002, A13.
23. Helen Fallding, "Doer touts health-care innovations", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 January 2002, A3.
24. Linda West, "Front-line health workers are heroes of SARS battle", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 July 2003, A15
25. Linda West, "City sales tax regressive", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 October 2003, A15; Patti Edgar, "Repeat speakers lashed", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 November 2003, B1.