Jeff Wharton
Canadian politician
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Jeff Wharton is a Canadian politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Red River North, formerly serving as the Minister of Economic Development, Investment and Trade. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, he was first elected in the 2016 provincial election as MLA for Gimli, and re-elected in 2019 and 2023 as MLA for Red River North.[1]
Jeff Wharton | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Economic Development, Investment and Trade | |
| In office January 30, 2023 – October 18, 2023 | |
| Premier | Heather Stefanson |
| Preceded by | Cliff Cullen |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Moses |
| Minister of Environment, Climate and Parks | |
| In office January 18, 2022 – January 30, 2023 | |
| Premier | Heather Stefanson |
| Preceded by | Sarah Guillemard |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Klein |
| Minister of Crown Services | |
| In office September 25, 2019 – January 18, 2022 | |
| Premier | Brian Pallister Kelvin Goertzen Heather Stefanson |
| Preceded by | Colleen Mayer |
| Succeeded by | Portfolio Abolished |
| Minister of Municipal Relations | |
| In office August 17, 2017 – October 23, 2019 | |
| Premier | Brian Pallister |
| Preceded by | new portfolio |
| Succeeded by | Rochelle Squires |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Red River North Gimli (2016-2019) | |
| Assumed office April 19, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Bjornson |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Progressive Conservative |
Wharton initially ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate for Gimli in the 2011 provincial election, but lost to incumbent NDP MLA Peter Bjornson. When Bjornson retired in 2015, Wharton ran and was elected MLA for Gimli in the 2016 Manitoba election.
On August 17, 2017, Premier Brian Pallister appointed Wharton as Minister of Municipal Relations.[2]
Following electoral boundary changes implemented in 2019, Gimli was dissolved and Wharton successfully sought election in the new constituency of Red River North.
Wharton was appointed Minister of Crown Services on September 26, 2019. He was succeeded by the Honourable Jamie Moses with the election of the NDP government in 2023.[3] On October 24, 2023, he was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Economic Development, Investment and Trade.
Electoral record
| 2023 Manitoba general election: Red River North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Jeff Wharton | 5,926 | 60.35 | +2.38 | $24,507.31 | |||
| New Democratic | Alicia Hill | 3,893 | 39.65 | +14.78 | $168.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 9,819 | 98.56 | – | $64,198.00 | ||||
| Total rejected and declined ballots | 143 | 1.44 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 9,962 | 60.47 | -3.49 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 16,474 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | -6.20 | ||||||
Source(s) | ||||||||
| 2019 Manitoba general election: Red River North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Jeff Wharton | 5,569 | 57.97 | -8.2 | $24,853.38 | |||
| New Democratic | Chris Pullen | 2,389 | 24.87 | +3.2 | $4,288.04 | |||
| Green | Graham Hnatiuk | 740 | 7.70 | – | $275.00 | |||
| Liberal | Noel Ngo | 735 | 7.65 | -4.5 | $0.00 | |||
| Manitoba First | Jocelyn Burzuik | 173 | 1.80 | – | $1,716.07 | |||
| Total valid votes | 9,606 | – | ||||||
| Rejected | 38 | – | ||||||
| Eligible voters / turnout | 15,077 | 63.96 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | -5.7 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). Statement of Votes for the 42nd Provincial General Election, September 10, 2019 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba. "Candidate Election Returns". Elections Manitoba. Elections Manitoba. Retrieved 2 March 2020. | ||||||||
| 2016 Manitoba general election: Gimli | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Jeff Wharton | 5,614 | 60.53 | 17.25 | ||||
| New Democratic | Armand Bélanger | 2,579 | 27.81 | -23.72 | ||||
| Green | Dwight Harfield | 843 | 9.09 | 5.91 | ||||
| Manitoba | Ed Paquette | 239 | 2.58 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 9,275 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected | 108 | – | ||||||
| Eligible voters / turnout | 14,226 | 65.96 | -0.03 | |||||
Source(s)
Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (2016). Statement of Votes for the 41st Provincial General Election, April 19, 2016 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba. "Election Returns: 41st General Election". Elections Manitoba. 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2018. | ||||||||
| 2011 Manitoba general election: Gimli | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Peter Bjornson | 5,012 | 51.52 | -7.22 | $37,146.57 | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Jeff Wharton | 4,210 | 43.28 | 9.20 | $34,709.30 | |||
| Green | Glenda Whiteman | 309 | 3.18 | – | $1,012.25 | |||
| Liberal | Lawrence Einarsson | 197 | 2.03 | -5.16 | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes | 9,728 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected | 17 | – | ||||||
| Eligible voters / turnout | 14,769 | 65.98 | 3.07 | |||||
Source(s)
Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (2011). Statement of Votes for the 40th Provincial General Election, October 4, 2011 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba. "Election Returns: 40th General Election". Elections Manitoba. 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2018. | ||||||||
Controversies
On October 29th, 2025 while Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew was speaking about the rights of vulnerable groups (including the disenfranchisement of Indigenous peoples), Wharton made a “waah, waah” sound and gesture in a sarcastic and mocking tone, after the Premier’s mention that his father was not allowed to vote.[7]
Although no formal sanction against Wharton has been reported in connection to these incidents, the events drew media attention and raised questions about the conduct of MLAs in the chamber and the treatment of issues relating to Indigenous rights and marginalized groups.