Green Party candidates, 2003 Manitoba provincial election

The Green Party of Manitoba (GPM) fielded fourteen candidates in the 2003 provincial election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found on this page. The party received a total of 3,792 votes.

The GPM also fielded a candidate in a 2005 by-election. Information about that candidate has been included on this page.

Jesse Tottle (Assiniboia)

Tottle was a pharmacist and manager at a West Kildonan pharmacy at the time of the election. [Aldo Santin, "NDP in fight for hard-won seat", "Winnipeg Free Press", 24 May 2003, A11.] He received 102 votes (1.25%), finishing fourth against New Democratic Party incumbent Jim Rondeau. He later worked with Vinyl Republik Records. [ [http://www.manitobamusic.com/index.php?pid=10200&mid=10200&rid=1463 "Strong local presence at CMV 2006] , "Manitoba Music News", 1 March 2006, accessed 26 October 2006.]

Catharine Johannson (Burrows)

Johannson has an Economics degree from the University of Manitoba. She wrote several plays during the 1990s, including "Dogs on Prozac", "Free Radical", "Redneck Misunderstood" and "How to Love a Self-Hating Ukrainian".

Johannson comes from a politically active family. Her father, Robert Johannson, was a member of Winnipeg city council from 1971 to 1977, and later campaigned for the provincial New Democratic Party. She herself was a member of the Manitoba Young New Democrats in the 1990s, and became President of the New Democratic Youth of Canada, the NDP's national youth wing, in 1997. [Catharine Johannson, letter, "Winnipeg Free Press", 22 October 1996, A11; "Young teens are allowed to marry and drive -- and now they want to vote", "Kitchener-Waterloo Record", 27 July 1998, B6.] She campaigned for a seat on the Winnipeg City Council in 1992, but was unsuccessful. [Nick Martin, "It's his home", "Winnipeg Free Press", 26 March 1995, Lifestyles.] She later left the NDP to join the Green Party. Her mother Joan Johannson and brother Mike Johannson have also been Green Party candidates.

Johannson has served on the federal council of the Green Party of Canada, [ [http://catjo.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_catjo_archive.html Catharine Johannson, blog entry, 28 September 2006] , accessed 22 July 2006.] and supported Elizabeth May for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada in 2006. [ [http://catjo.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_catjo_archive.html Catharine Johannson, blog entry, 28 September 2006] , accessed 3 August 2006] .]

She is a practicing Christian, and became Treasurer of the World Student Christian Federation's North American Region in 2006. She was a member of the Student Christian Movement in the early 1990s when attending the University of Manitoba.

Frank Luschak (Kildonan)

Luschak is an elementary school teacher in Winnipeg. In 1998, he argued that a local Hepatitis B immunization plan should be postponed, on the grounds that the shots could result in immune deficiency difficulties. [Leah Janzen, "Hepatitis vaccination plan attacked", "Winnipeg Free Press", 3 November 1998, A3.] He also cautioned parents about a meningitis vaccine in 2001. [Alexandra Paul, "Vaccine targets 60,000", "Winnipeg Free Press", 24 March 2001, A1.] Luschak's own daughter once fell into a seven-day coma after receiving a different immunization shot. [Alexandra Paul, "Law report validates our stand", "Winnipeg Free Press", 18 October 2000, A6.] He received 140 votes (1.92%) in 2003, finishing fourth against New Democratic Party incumbent Dave Chomiak.

Vere H. Scott (Lord Roberts)

Scott received 442 votes (6.30%), finishing fourth against New Democratic Party incumbent Diane McGifford. He ran for the Green Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election.

Joan Johannson (Minto)

Johannson is former New Democrat, and was a candidate of the New Democratic Party in the 1981 and 1990 provincial elections. She later left the NDP to join the Green Party. Her husband, Robert Johannson, is a former Winnipeg City Councillor, and her children Catharine and Mike have campaigned for the Green Party at the provincial and federal levels.

Johannson has a Master's Degree in social work, and was a social worker in Winnipeg for many years. She became unemployed during the economic downturn of the early 1990s, and subsequently became a prominent anti-poverty activist in the city. Johannson led the Canadian Association of the Non-Employed (CANE) from 1993 to 2000, [Kelly Taylor, "Out of work and out of time", "Winnipeg Free Press", 24 April 1993. She was forty-nine years old in 1993.] and was a director of the National Anti-Poverty Association. [Frances Russell, "Budget talks focus on core values", "Winnipeg Free Press", 1 December 1995, A14; Dan Lett, "Affirming unity may conquer separatists", "Winnipeg Free Press", 13 January 1998; Linda Rosborough, "Canada's poor left `to starve,' travelling Tory task force told", "Winnipeg Free Press", 1 April 1999, A3.] She wrote her autobiography, "Discovering the Bright Warrior: Confessions of a Social Activist", in 2001. ["Showbits", "Winnipeg Free Press", 13 November 2001, D1; Holli Moncrieff, "Discovering the Bright Warrior tells story of activist's struggles", "Winnipeg Free Press", 5 December 2001, p. 1.]

Johannson became Policy Development coordinator for the Green Party of Canada (Manitoba) and the Green Party of Manitoba in 2004. [ [http://www.greenparty.ca/page137.html September Green Idol: Joan Johannson] , Green Party of Canada, accessed 27 October 2006.]

Linda Goossen (River Heights)

Goossen is a registered nurse. She wrote a newspaper column on the future of Manitoba nursing in 2002, encouraging graduates of Manitoba programs to stay in the area. [Linda Goossen, "Nursing, there's no life like it", "Winnipeg Free Press", 23 January 2002, A13.] She was also a founding editor of Winnipeg's "Motherwork" magazine, and announced in 1994 that she would only purchase canola oil from organic farmers due to concerns about excessive pesticide use. [Linda Goossen, Letter to the Editor, "Winnipeg Free Press", 21 August 1994. Nick Underwood, an agronomist, criticized Goossen's letter in a follow-up letter printed on 11 September 1994.] Goossen opposed the Winnipeg municipal government's decision to spray malathion in the city in 2002. [Linda Goossen, Letter to the Editor, "Winnipeg Free Press", 17 July 2002, A15.] She received 209 votes (2.26%), finishing fourth against Liberal leader Jon Gerrard.

Alon Weinberg (St. Johns)

Weinberg received 221 votes (3.79%), finishing fourth against New Democratic Party incumbent Gord Mackintosh. He ran for the Green Party of Canada in the 2004 federal election.

Keith Barber (St. Norbert)

Barber manages Agape Table, a soup kitchen in Winnipeg's inner city. [Nick Martin, "Students given first-hand taste of city poverty", "Winnipeg Free Press", 16 January 2004, B12.] Agape suffered financial difficulties in late 2003, before a feature in the "Winnipeg Free Press" newspaper brought in significant local donations. [Aldo Santin, "Soup kitchen desperate for donations", "Winnipeg Free Press", 28 November 2003, B1; Aldo Santin, "Readers save charity", "Winnipeg Free Press", 11 December 2003, B1.] Barber has written in support of a mixed-member proportional representation electoral system. [Keith Barber, Letter to the Editor, "Winnipeg Free Press", 7 June 2003, A15.] and was the Green Party's membership coordinator in 2004. [ [http://greenparty.mb.ca/newsletter/gpmnewsltr-fall03.rtf Newsletter of the Green Party of Manitoba] , Fall 2003, accessed 7 November 2006.] He received 186 votes (2.70%), finishing fourth against New Democratic Party candidate Marilyn Brick.

Nelson P. Morrison (St. Vital)

Morrison works for the City of Winnipeg as an industrial instrumentation technologist. He campaigned for Mayor of Winnipeg in the 1998 municipal election at age 38, on a platform of helping the city's poor. He opposed rival candidate Peter Kaufmann's plan to sell Winnipeg Hydro, and tried to present Kaufmann with a sarcastic "For Sale" sign during an all-candidates debate. [Brian Cole, "Kaufmann's retreat", "Winnipeg Free Press", 1 October 1998, A14; Kim Guttormson, "Kaufmann defends storming out of debate", "Winnipeg Free Press", 1 October 1998, A12.] Morrison indicated that he did not spend any money on this campaign, and finished well behind Glen Murray, the winning candidate. [David O'Brien, "Mayoral race attracts the political fringe", "Winnipeg Free Press", 10 September 1998, A4.]

He ran for Mayor of Winnipeg a second time in 2004, after Murray resigned to campaign for the Canadian House of Commons. He called for the city's executive policy committee to be changed every six months, and opposed a new extension in Waverley West. [Patti Edgar, "Four fringe candidates in race for mayor", "Winnipeg Free Press", 2 June 2004, B2.] He finished well behind Sam Katz.

Morrison has served as external liaison on the Manitoba Green party executive. He was a critic of party leader Markus Buchart, whom he unsuccessfully challenged in November 2004. Buchart resigned in March 2005, due to ongoing criticism from within the party. [Daniel Lett, "Green party in shambles", "Winnipeg Free Press", 14 March 2005, B1; Paul Egan, "'Ignore Kyoto' says local economist", "Winnipeg Free Press", 19 March 2004, B2.]

Connie Jantz (Steinbach)

Jantz has served as President of the Green Party of Manitoba, [ [http://greenparty.mb.ca/newsletter/gpmnewsltr-fall03.rtf Newsletter of the Green Party of Manitoba] , Fall 2003, accessed 9 November 2006.] and is active in the Winnipeg arts community. She received 126 votes (2.20%), finishing fourth against Progressive Conservative candidate Kelvin Goertzen.

Markus Buchart (Wolseley)

Buchart was the party leader. He received 1,193 votes (19.49%), finishing second against New Democratic Party candidate Rob Altemeyer. He resigned the party leadership in 2005, as a result of internal party divisions.

Shelagh Pizey-Allen (Fort Whyte by-election, 16 December 2005)

Pizey-Allen was eighteen years old, and was a first-year student at the University of Winnipeg. She had previously been involved with Offramp, the environmental society at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg. [Cheryl Binning, "Nineteen days and counting... I haven't given up yoga yet!", "Winnipeg Free Press", 19 May 2005, p. 3.] Pizey-Allen was a member of the Team Canada water polo team in 2003, and played an exhibition game in Cuba. [Mia Rabson, "All candidates support new high school in area", "Winnipeg Free Press", 9 December 2005, A8.]

She was a spokesperson for Concerned Residents Educating Winnipeg (CREW) in the summer of 2005, and argued against spraying malathion to control the city's mosquito population. ["Winnipeg's anti-mosquito fogging stirs debate", "Canada AM" [transcript] , 21 July 2005.] The group later changed its name to Concerned Residents of Winnipeg (CROW). During the 2005 by-election, Pizey-Allen described herself as left-of-centre on social issues. [Nick Martin, "We're not left wing, new leader insists", "Winnipeg Free Press", 21 November 2005, A6.] She received 120 votes (1.77%), finishing fourth against Progressive Conservative Party leader Hugh McFadyen.

Pizey-Allen was charged with mischief in 2006, after taking part in a road blockage in Kenora, Ontario. Protestors had set up the blockage to prevent logging trucks from crossing Separation Bridge. ["In brief", "Winnipeg Free Press", 29 July 2006, A6.] In the summer of 2007, she helped organize a Youth Activist Retreat with a focus on social justice and environmental issues. ["Retreat for youth activists", "Winnipeg Free Press", 5 July 2007, B3.]

Footnotes