Ron Schuler

Ron Schuler (born February 12, 1963) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He is currently a member of the Manitoba Legislature and a representative of the Progressive Conservative Party. He was first elected in the 1999 provincial election and was re-elected in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections.

Personal life and education

Schuler was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He attended John M. King Elementary School, before moving to Benton Harbor, 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 from the University of Manitoba 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, 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.

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 Leonard Kimakovich by 4969 votes to 4058 in the constituency of Springfield.

Manitoba general election, 1999: Springfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Ron Schuler	4,969	49.47		$25,718.76
	New Democratic	Leonard Kimacovich	4,058	40.40		$26,227.00
	Liberal	Patricia Aitken	771	7.68	–	$13,962.00
	Manitoba Party	Roger Woloshyn	203	2.02		$2,703.08
Total valid votes			10,001	99.56
Rejected and declined votes			44
Turnout			10,045	77.12
Registered voters			13,025

During Schuler’s first term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Gary Filmon, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba 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 margin, despite the poor performance of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba candidates in most of Manitoba. Stuart Murray 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 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.

Manitoba general election, 2007: Springfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Ron Schuler	5,165	58.16		$25,538.14
	New Democratic	Ernest Muswagon	2,656	29.91		$7,505.06
	Liberal	James Johnston	1,014	11.42	–	$4,606.05
Total valid votes			8,835	99.48
Rejected and declined votes			46
Turnout			8,881	56.78
Registered voters			15,642

In September 2007, Schuler was appointed Critic for Education, Citizenship and Youth, as well as Caucus Whip by Leader Hugh McFadyen. As of February 4, 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

• Official website