Ginny Hasselfield

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Ginny Hasselfield is a Canadian politician, and was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party between 1996 and 1998.

Although Hasselfield had never run for provincial office, she was known in Manitoba as a prominent organizer for the Liberal Party and was supported by the party's establishment against Kevin Lamoureux, a maverick MLA from north-end Winnipeg.

Hasselfield and Lamoureux had a very poor personal relationship during this leadership contest. The voting was determined by a "weighted" balloting process (ie. every party member could vote in his/her home constituency, and the votes from each constituency were averaged out to provide an equal number of "points" for the total). Lamoureux received more membership votes, but the concentration of his support in north Winnipeg meant that Hasselfield was able to attain a 21-point victory. Hasselfield later threatened Lamoureux with a lawsuit for publicly questioning her ability to lead the party.

After the federal election of 1997, Lamoureux and Gary Kowalski left the Liberal caucus to sit as "Independent Liberals" (this left Neil Gaudry as the only official Liberal MLA in the Manitoba legislature). With the party's internal organization crumbing, Hasselfield was prevailed upon to stand down as party leader on February 4, 1998. While she never stood for election to the legislature, she was leader during one by-election in Portage la Prairie.

Hasselfield later moved to British Columbia, and remains an active supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Preceded by Paul Edwards

Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party 1996-1998

Succeeded by Jon Gerrard