Jim Rondeau

Jim Rondeau (born April 6, 1959) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada.

He was a teacher at Norway House High School from 1981 to 1984 and later taught at Cranberry Portage, before becoming coordinator of the Frontier School Division at the University of Winnipeg.

Rondeau helped establish several learning centres and libraries throughout the province, and founded a school-to-work transition program for young people from northern Manitoba.

He also coached the Winnipeg Eagles Volleyball Club, and was coach and manager of the Manitoba Volleyball team in several North American Aboriginal Games.

He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1999 to 2016, and served as cabinet minister in the provincial governments of Gary Doer and Greg Selinger from 2003 to 2013.

Rondeau is a member of the New Democratic Party.

Rondeau was first elected to the Manitoba Legislature in the 1999 provincial election with a dramatic victory in the west-end Winnipeg riding of Assiniboia, previously regarded as safe for the Progressive Conservative Party.

On election night, the final vote totals showed Progressive Conservative incumbent Linda McIntosh winning re-election by two votes.

After the institutional ballots were counted, however, Rondeau was declared elected by six votes.

A recount later reduced his majority to four, and a subsequent judicial ruling struck it down to three.

Rondeau entered the legislature as a backbench supporter of Gary Doer's government, and soon became known as a strong constituency worker.

He kept a strong interest in educational issues, and was a frequent participant in debates at the St. James-Assiniboia School Board.

Rondeau's narrow victory in 1999 made his seat a key Progressive Conservative target in the 2003 election, but he was re-elected with 63% of the vote, winning every poll but one.

Rondeau is the first openly gay member of the Manitoba legislature, and was the keynote speaker of Winnipeg's 2000 Gay Pride Parade.

He represented the provincial government at Manitoba's 2001 Hire a Student Day event, and was appointed to the board of Junior Achievement of Manitoba in 2003 with responsibility for Government, Education and Labor Relations.

Rondeau also played an important role in assuring passage of the provincial Canadian Forces Personnel Act.

He encouraged the Doer government to introduce full legal equality for gay and lesbian couples during its first term, and strongly supported 2002 legislation that ensured full equality for all common-law relationships.

Rondeau supported Jack Layton for the leadership of the federal New Democratic Party in 2003.

In November 2003, he was appointed as Minister of Healthy Living within the Department of Health, with special responsibility for Seniors and Healthy Child Manitoba.

He became a strong advocate for public awareness and preventative medicine, and indicated that the Doer government would consider removing the provincial sales tax from nutritional supplements and alternative foods.

In December 2003, Rondeau announced that Manitoba would ban all smoking from indoor public places and workplaces within a year.

The initiative was described as the most ambitious anti-smoking strategy in Canada, and a February 2004 poll showed that many smokers were considering quitting in light of the ban.

Rondeau introduced the anti-smoking bill in March 2004, and the ban came into effect at the beginning of October.

The bill exempted tobacco shops as well as native reserves and casinos, which the government argued were outside provincial jurisdiction.

In March 2004, Rondeau announced that the Doer government had signed a $2.5-million contract to create a Prostate Centre at CancerCare Manitoba.

He later handled negotiations concerning whether or not the Manitoba government would provide funding for an abortion clinic in Winnipeg.

Despite some initial reluctance, he announced in July 2004 that the government would fully fund abortions at Jane's Clinic, once owned by Henry Morgentaler.

In late April 2004, he announced that the provincial government would pay for child vaccinations against chicken pox, meningitis and pneumococcus.

Rondeau and Fort Garry representative Kerri Irvin-Ross co-chaired public hearings on Manitoba's privacy laws in May 2004.

Later in the year, he announced that the government would establish a "Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures" committee of the legislature.

Rondeau was promoted to a full cabinet portfolio on October 12, 2004, as Minister of Industry, Economic Development and Mines.

He indicated that Manitoba had the potential for strong economic growth in the mining sector, particularly in light of the need for raw materials in countries such as India and China.

He also announced that he would work to reduce government bureaucracy in the sector, and make it easier for mining projects to get underway.

He later became a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage, which was legalized in Canada in 2005.

Rondeau has said that his sexual orientation has never been controversial in his constituency, once telling a journalist, "People don't care one way or the other. I'm surprised, pleasantly surprised, that people don't make it an issue."

The mining sector reported dramatic growth in 2005, highlighted by a new investment from Inco and a new gold mine project in Bissett.

Rondeau launched a farm immigration program in February 2005, making it easier for young farmers to move to Manitoba.

Rondeau did not seek re-election in the 2016 Manitoba election.

The son of Gaston Joseph Rondeau and Dorothy Jean Finch, he was born in Winnipeg, and was educated at John Taylor Collegiate.

He holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Winnipeg and has completed post-baccalaureate studies at the University of Manitoba.