Ernie Gilroy

Gilroy was born on 6 October 1948.^{[citation needed]} He holds a certificate in management and administration from the Canadian Institute of Management through the University of Manitoba.^[1] He is an insurance salesman in private life,^[2] and was a board member of the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba in 1997–98 and 1999–2000.^[3] In 1998, he raised concerns about proposed bank mergers when testifying before a federal Liberal Party task force on financial services.^[4] Gilroy has also served as Winnipeg chairman of Save The Children Canada,^[5] and has been a board member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.^[6] He was appointed to the board of directors of the Royal Canadian Mint in 1998.^[7]

Gilroy's daughter, Cindy Gilroy, was elected as a Winnipeg Division One School Trustee in 2006 and was later elected as City Councillor for Daniel McIntyre in the 2014 municipal elections.^[8]

Gilroy was elected to the Winnipeg City Council for the Sargent Park ward in 1986, defeating New Democratic Party candidate George Slobodzian by just under 300 votes. He was re-elected in 1989, for the redistributed ward of Daniel McIntyre. Widely respected for his abilities in government, Gilroy served in Mayor Bill Norrie's cabinet during the late 1980s and early 1990s.^[9] He chaired the Planning and Community Services Committee, the Finance and Administration Committee and the Protection Parks and Culture Committee, as well as chairing a planning committee in 1991–92 that produced the report, Plan Winnipeg: Toward 2010.^[10]

Gilroy was chairman of the Winnipeg Convention Centre board in the early 1990s, and took part in discussions to build a new arena for the Winnipeg Jets hockey team.^[11] He supported a plan to build an arena called "Manitoba Gardens" in the city's downtown, and favoured the use of private-sector money rather than requiring the team's majority owners to contribute.^[12] These discussions were ultimately unsuccessful, and the Jets left the city later in the decade. Gilroy was also chosen as the City of Winnipeg's representative on the board of the Sargent-Ellice Business Improvement Zone in 1991.^[13]

Gilroy ran for Mayor of Winnipeg in 1992, highlighting his work for a new downtown arena.^[14] He criticized rival candidates Susan Thompson and David Brown for promising to introduce a tax freeze, saying that this would be impossible in the wake of reduced funding from the provincial and federal governments. He was supported by five Liberal Members of Parliament, and by the Winnipeg Police Association.^[15] He finished fourth against Thompson on election day.

In 1993, Gilroy successfully lobbied to have a new community centre on Langside Street after former councillor Magnus Eliason.^[16] He supported Terry Duguid in the 1995 mayoral election.^[17]

Glen Murray was elected as Winnipeg's mayor in the 1998 municipal election, and appointed Gilroy to serve on his transition team.^[18] He later named Gilroy as the secretary of Winnipeg's executive policy committee.^[19] Gilroy was eventually recognized as the most powerful behind-the-scenes negotiator in Murray's administration. One civil servant indicated that he was a good choice to create links between elected politicians and the city bureaucracy, although some accused him of controlling the mayor's agenda.^[20] Gilroy later worked on Murray's behalf in the federal St. Boniface riding, scouting out possible supporters if the mayor chose to run as a Liberal candidate in a 2002 by-election.^[21] Murray ultimately chose not to run in that riding. Gilroy stepped down from his position in 2003.^[22]