Ron Schuler
Encyclopedia
Ron Schuler is a politician in Manitoba
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 is currently a member of the Manitoba Legislature and a representative of the Progressive Conservative Party
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:...

. He was first elected in the 1999 provincial election and was re-elected in the 2003 and 2007 elections.

Personal life and education

Schuler was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He attended John M. King Elementary School, before moving to Benton Harbor
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan which is located west of Kalamazoo. The population was 10,038 at the 2010 census. It is the lesser populated of the two principal cities included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...

, Michigan, where he attended Millburg Elementary School in Berrien County. In 1976, he moved back to Winnipeg, where he attended Elmwood Junior High and graduated from Elmwood High School in 1981. He is the youngest son of Wanda and Reinhold Schuler, with four sisters and one brother.

Schuler obtained 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...

 from the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

 in 1987, with a major in international relations and a minor in sociology. He was a junior executive at the T. Eaton Company in 1979-84. Schuler went on to become a small business owner and co-owner of Christmas Traditions, Espresso Junction Inc. and Gingerbread World Inc. He also served as Chair of the Manitoba Intercultural Council from 1991 to 1993.

School board service

On October 25, 1995, Schuler began his political career by being elected as a school trustee for the River East School Division
River East School Division
The River East School Division is a former school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was merged with the Transcona-Springfield School Division in 2002 to create the new River East Transcona School Division....

, Ward Three.
1995 River East School Division Ward Three school trustee results
Candidate Total Votes Result
Ron Schuler 5745 Elected
Brian Olynik 4525 Elected
Peter Kotyk 3957 Elected
Bill Dueck 3726
Leni Hamm-Lousier 2591


In his first term on the River East School Board, Schuler served as Chairman of the Education and Policy Committee. He advocated a zero violence tolerance policy on issues affecting the safety of students and staff. Schuler strongly supported increased technology funding and division-wide upgrades to classroom computers, and also strongly supported heritage language programs offered in the divisions.

He was re-elected on October 28 as a school trustee for the River East School Division, Ward Three in the 1998 election. Schuler’s re-election led him to being appointed to serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees in November 1998. He resigned from his position as school trustee on September 23, 1999 to pursue his career in provincial politics with the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
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:...

.
1998 River East School Division Ward Three school trustee results
Candidate Total Votes Result
Ron Schuler 5772 Elected
Peter Kotyk 5173 Elected
Brian Olynik 5136 Elected
Con Lynch 4416
Al Penner 4005

Legislative service

Schuler was elected to the Manitoba Legislature on September 21 in the 1999 provincial election, defeating New Democrat
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...

 Leonard Kimakovich by 4969 votes to 4058 in the constituency of Springfield.
During Schuler’s first term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....

 (MLA), 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:...

, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
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:...

 appointed Schuler as the PC Caucus Labour & Immigration Critic.

The voters of Springfield re-elected Schuler as their MLA on June 3, 2003 by a much greater, despite the poor performance of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba candidates in most of Manitoba. Stuart Murray
Stuart Murray
Stuart Murray is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and leader of the opposition in the Manitoba legislature from 2000 to 2006.-Early life and career:...

 appointed Schuler as the PC Caucus Critic for Energy, Science and Technology, and the Chief Critic for the Kyoto Accord, the Civil Service Commission, and Lotteries and Gaming.
2003 Manitoba provincial election: Springfield
Candidate Name Party Votes
Ron Schuler PC 4,917 – 60.3%
Georgine Spooner NDP 2,512 – 30.8%
Vince Boileau Lib 682 – 8.9%
rejected 20
declined 14
total votes cast 8,145
registered voters 14,599
turnout 55.79%


On February 24, 2006, Schuler announced that he would seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba. Hugh McFadyen
Hugh McFadyen
Hugh Daniel McFadyen is a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, Canada. Since 2006, he has been leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and Leader of the Opposition in the Manitoba legislature. Following his party's loss in the 2011 election he announced that he would resign as...

 won the leadership election on April 29, 2006.
2006 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election
Candidate Votes Votes Vote %
Hugh McFadyen 6,091 67%
Ron Schuler 1,953 21%
Ken Waddell 1099 12%


For a third consecutive term, Schuler was re-elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Springfield on May 22, 2007.
In September of 2007, Schuler was appointed Critic for Education, Citizenship and Youth, as well as Caucus Whip by Leader Hugh McFadyen. As of February 4th, 2010, Schuler is the Critic for Housing and Community Development and Sports.

Schuler has held numerous Critic portfolios during his time in office, which include: Labour and Immigration, Energy, Science and Technology, Kyoto Accord, the Civil Service Commission, Lotteries and Gaming, Education, Citizenship & Youth, Community Economic Development Fund, Housing and Community Development and Sports, as well as Caucus Whip.

Schuler has been nominated to represent the Progressive Conservative Party in the 2011 Manitoba provincial election, held on October 4, in the newly created constituency of St Paul.

Community involvement

Schuler is an active community volunteer and has given his time to Big Brothers, Citizens on Patrol, Citizens Against Impaired Driving, the Kidney Foundation of Manitoba, Max Reinhardt Theatre Canada, the Folk Arts Council, the German Canadian Heritage Foundation and the Manitoba Inter-cultural Council. He is very active in Manitoba youth sports and other community activities.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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