Doug Martindale
Encyclopedia
Doug Martindale is a politician in Manitoba
, Canada
. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
since 1990, serving as a member of the New Democratic Party
.
, Ontario
. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Brock University
(1973) and a Master of Divinity
degree from Victoria University
(1976). He is an ordained United Church
minister, and has practiced in Saskatchewan
(1976–80) and at a mission in north-end Winnipeg (1980–90). He has been involved in several outreach programs among Winnipeg's poor and aboriginal communities, and remains active in efforts to combat homelessness. He helped to convert St. John's United Church into a co-op apartment complex, and was a founding member of Inner City Voice newspaper. In the legislature, he has served as Chair of the Justice, Social and Economic Development Committees.
Martindale defeated incumbent MLA Conrad Santos
to win the New Democratic Party
nomination for the northwest Winnipeg division of Burrows in the 1988 provincial election
. He was defeated in the general election by Liberal
candidate William Chornopyski
. The seat had previously been regarded as safe for the NDP, but local divisions and a provincial swing away from the party contributed to Martindale's defeat.
, and Martindale was able to defeat Chornopyski in a rematch. The Progressive Conservatives
won a majority government under Gary Filmon
, and Martindale served in the official opposition as his party's critic for family services and housing. He opposed the Filmon government's cuts to child welfare and education support, and called for an inquiry into allegations of emotional abuse and unethical treatment at the Osborne House battered women's shelter. He also criticized the government's introduction of a "welfare fraud hotline", describing it as "punitive and unnecessary" and noting that Manitoba lost far more money each year to income tax fraud. Nonetheless, Martindale supported the government's early intervention policy as a means of keeping more children with their families and out of the supervision of Child and Family Services.
Martindale was re-elected in the 1995 general election
, as the Progressive Conservatives won a second majority government across the province. He continued to serve as family services critic, and opposed another round of child welfare cuts introduced by the Filmon government later in the year. When the government introduced further benefit cuts of up to 10% for single, employable people, Martindale described Filmon's administration as the "cruelest, most heartless government in Canada". In 1999, he and fellow NDP MLA Diane McGifford
organized consultative meetings of parents and day-care providers.
under the leadership of Gary Doer
. Martindale was easily re-elected in Burrows, defeating controversial school trustee Mike Babinsky of the Liberal Party
. He served as a backbench supporter of the Doer government. In 2002, he was appointed to a four-member task force seeking public input on the future of the province's mining and petroleum sectors. There was some speculation that he would be appointed to cabinet after his re-election in 2003
, but this did not occur.
In 2004, Martindale brought forward a parliamentary motion urging the provincial government to declare the last Saturday of November as Day of the Ukrainian Famine/Genocide, commemorating the victims of the Holodomor
of 1932-33. He was an international observer to the Ukrainian presidential election
in December 2004.
Martindale was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election
.
's bid to become leader of the federal New Democratic Party
in 1995, and endorsed Bill Blaikie
in 2003.
. Expenditures refer to candidate expenses.
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...
since 1990, serving as a member of the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party of Manitoba
The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
.
Early life and career
Martindale was born in BrockvilleBrockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He holds a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Brock University
Brock University
Brock University is a comprehensive university located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Brock offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs that include co-op and other experiential learning opportunities to an enrolment of over 17,000 full-time students.The enabling legislation is...
(1973) and a Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
degree from Victoria University
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
Victoria University is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1836 and named for Queen Victoria. It is commonly called Victoria College, informally Vic, after the original academic component that now forms its undergraduate division...
(1976). He is an ordained United Church
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
minister, and has practiced in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
(1976–80) and at a mission in north-end Winnipeg (1980–90). He has been involved in several outreach programs among Winnipeg's poor and aboriginal communities, and remains active in efforts to combat homelessness. He helped to convert St. John's United Church into a co-op apartment complex, and was a founding member of Inner City Voice newspaper. In the legislature, he has served as Chair of the Justice, Social and Economic Development Committees.
Martindale defeated incumbent MLA Conrad Santos
Conrad Santos
Conrad Santos is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988, and again from 1990 to 2007....
to win the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party of Manitoba
The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
nomination for the northwest Winnipeg division of Burrows in the 1988 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1988
The Manitoba general election of April 26, 1988 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a minority government...
. He was defeated in the general election by Liberal
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
candidate William Chornopyski
William Chornopyski
William Chornopyski was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was associated with the New Democratic Party of Manitoba for many years, but was elected to the provincial legislature in 1988 as a member of the Manitoba Liberal Party.Chornopyski was born in Sundown, Manitoba, and served in the...
. The seat had previously been regarded as safe for the NDP, but local divisions and a provincial swing away from the party contributed to Martindale's defeat.
Opposition member
NDP support had recovered somewhat by the 1990 electionManitoba general election, 1990
The Manitoba general election of September 11, 1990 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative Party, which took 30 out of 57 seats...
, and Martindale was able to defeat Chornopyski in a rematch. The Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...
won a majority government under Gary Filmon
Gary Filmon
Gary Albert Filmon, PC, OC, OM is a Manitoba politician. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the 19th Premier from 1988 to 1999.-Early life and municipal career:...
, and Martindale served in the official opposition as his party's critic for family services and housing. He opposed the Filmon government's cuts to child welfare and education support, and called for an inquiry into allegations of emotional abuse and unethical treatment at the Osborne House battered women's shelter. He also criticized the government's introduction of a "welfare fraud hotline", describing it as "punitive and unnecessary" and noting that Manitoba lost far more money each year to income tax fraud. Nonetheless, Martindale supported the government's early intervention policy as a means of keeping more children with their families and out of the supervision of Child and Family Services.
Martindale was re-elected in the 1995 general election
Manitoba general election, 1995
The Manitoba general election of April 25,1995 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative Party, which won 31 seats out of 57...
, as the Progressive Conservatives won a second majority government across the province. He continued to serve as family services critic, and opposed another round of child welfare cuts introduced by the Filmon government later in the year. When the government introduced further benefit cuts of up to 10% for single, employable people, Martindale described Filmon's administration as the "cruelest, most heartless government in Canada". In 1999, he and fellow NDP MLA Diane McGifford
Diane McGifford
Diane McGifford is a Manitoba politician, and a current member of Premier Greg Selinger's cabinet.McGifford was born in Manchester, England, and moved to Manitoba at a young age. She was educated at the University of Manitoba, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970, a Master of Arts degree in...
organized consultative meetings of parents and day-care providers.
Government backbencher
The New Democratic Party won a majority government in the 1999 general electionManitoba general election, 1999
The Manitoba general election of September 21, 1999 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada....
under the leadership of Gary Doer
Gary Doer
Gary Albert Doer, OM is a Canadian diplomat and politician from Manitoba, Canada. Since October 19, 2009, he has served as Canada's Ambassador to the United States...
. Martindale was easily re-elected in Burrows, defeating controversial school trustee Mike Babinsky of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. He served as a backbench supporter of the Doer government. In 2002, he was appointed to a four-member task force seeking public input on the future of the province's mining and petroleum sectors. There was some speculation that he would be appointed to cabinet after his re-election in 2003
Manitoba general election, 2003
The Manitoba general election held on June 3, 2003 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which won 35 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party finished second with twenty seats...
, but this did not occur.
In 2004, Martindale brought forward a parliamentary motion urging the provincial government to declare the last Saturday of November as Day of the Ukrainian Famine/Genocide, commemorating the victims of the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
of 1932-33. He was an international observer to the Ukrainian presidential election
Ukrainian presidential election, 2004
The Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 was held on October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union...
in December 2004.
Martindale was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 2007
The Manitoba general election held on May 22, 2007 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which won 36 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party finished second with nineteen seats. The Liberal...
.
Federal politics
Martindale supported Lorne NystromLorne Nystrom
Lorne Edmund Nystrom, PC a Canadian politician, was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1993 when he lost his reelection bid. He returned to parliament in 1997 and served until 2004...
's bid to become leader of the federal New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
in 1995, and endorsed Bill Blaikie
Bill Blaikie
William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie, PC is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba since April 2009, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader...
in 2003.
Trivia
- Martindale played the role of J.S. Woodsworth during a 1994 commemoration of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.
- Since 2001, Martindale has taken part in a challenge organized by Evangelicals for Social Action to fast and pray during the MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
holy month of RamadanRamadanRamadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
. He has called for greater dialogue between ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and Muslim groups.
Electoral record
All electoral information is taken from Elections ManitobaElections Manitoba
Elections Manitoba is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba, responsible for the conduct of provincial elections....
. Expenditures refer to candidate expenses.