37 Facts About Rick Borotsik

Rick Borotsik served as Mayor of Brandon from 1989 to 1997, was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in 2007.

Rick Borotsik was born to a Ukrainian Canadian family in Brandon, was raised in that city, and graduated from Brandon University in 1971.

Rick Borotsik was elected to the Brandon City Council in 1977 and served for three terms before standing down in 1985.

Rick Borotsik joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 1978.

Rick Borotsik sought the provincial PC nomination to run in Brandon West in the buildup to the 1986 provincial election, but lost to Jim McCrae.

Rick Borotsik was an employee of the shopping centre firm Bramalea Limited during the 1980s.

Rick Borotsik was transferred from Brandon to Calgary in 1985, and again to the firm's head office in Toronto one year later.

Rick Borotsik remained the city for three years, and became director of 32 centres.

Rick Borotsik brought the Canada Games and the World Curling Championships to Brandon, and presided over a period of significant agribusiness expansion.

Rick Borotsik was given credit for saving the city's airport.

Rick Borotsik supported the introduction of Video Lottery Terminals into Brandon, and pressured the provincial government to turn over VLT revenues to the municipalities.

Rick Borotsik called for a casino to be set up in the city, and endorsed unrestricted Sunday shopping.

Rick Borotsik was a strong supporter of party leader Jean Charest, and was considered a star candidate.

Rick Borotsik indicated that he opposed the ideology of the rival Reform Party of Canada, a party further right than the old PCs, which he described as a "flash-in-the-pan regional party" with no national perspective.

Rick Borotsik was narrowly elected over the Reform candidate, while pushing Liberal incumbent Glen McKinnon into third place.

Rick Borotsik was his party's only elected representative from western Canada.

Rick Borotsik served successively as critic for agriculture, the Canadian Wheat Board and western economic diversification, and had unofficial duties for the western provinces.

Rick Borotsik was chosen as national caucus chairman, and endorsed former prime minister Joe Clark's successful bid to succeed Charest as leader.

Rick Borotsik was an opponent of the United Alternative, a Reform-sponsored drive for a new political party that resulted in the creation of the Canadian Alliance.

Rick Borotsik opposed the Canadian gun registry, which he described as unworkable.

Rick Borotsik endorsed a 1998 bill that reversed Louis Riel's conviction for treason, and recognized him as a Father of Confederation.

Rick Borotsik was narrowly re-elected in the 2000 federal election over a candidate of the Canadian Alliance, as the Liberals won a third consecutive majority government nationally.

Rick Borotsik was named as party whip and Critic for Agriculture, Indian Affairs and the Canadian Wheat Board.

Rick Borotsik took part in preliminary discussions between the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance in early 2001.

Rick Borotsik said that a "mutual compromise" would have to be reached before the next election to prevent the Liberals from remaining in power.

Prentice lost to Peter MacKay on the final ballot of the party's 2003 leadership convention; Rick Borotsik resigned as party whip, but remained Agriculture Critic.

Rick Borotsik endorsed the principles of public health care and employment insurance, and became associated with the Red Tory wing of his party.

Rick Borotsik strongly opposed this decision, and said that he would not be a candidate for the merged party if Stephen Harper was chosen as its leader.

Rick Borotsik openly considered joining the Liberals once the merger was finalized, and was on hand to provide "moral support" for Progressive Conservative MP Scott Brison when he announced his own defection to the Liberal Party.

Rick Borotsik ultimately chose to sit with the merged Conservative Party of Canada until the next election, but made no secret of his opposition to Stephen Harper and the new party's social conservatism.

Rick Borotsik turned down an offer to become Agriculture Critic in Harper's shadow cabinet, and did not stand in the 2004 campaign.

Rick Borotsik supported Belinda Stronach's decision to leave the Conservatives for the Liberals in 2005, and indicated that he would consider running for either the Liberal Party of Canada or the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba at some time in the future.

Rick Borotsik was narrowly elected in the 2007 election, defeating New Democratic Party cabinet minister Scott Smith by 56 votes in Brandon West.

Rick Borotsik provoked some controversy when he announced that he favoured an end to Manitoba's tuition freeze; the party's official policy was to keep the freeze in place.

The New Democratic Party was re-elected to a third consecutive majority government in the 2007 election, and Rick Borotsik entered the legislature as a member of the Official Opposition.

Rick Borotsik was not a candidate in the 2011 Manitoba general election.

Note: Reports in the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper do not indicate if Rick Borotsik was elected in Ward Three or Ward Four in the 1980 Brandon election.