Minister of Finance (Manitoba)

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The Minister of Finance is a cabinet minister in the government of Manitoba. Prior to 1969, the minister was styled as the Provincial Treasurer. Many regard the Finance Minister as the second-most important member of government, after the Premier.

The Finance Minister is responsible for managing the province's fiscal resources, overseeing taxation policies, and allocating funds to other governmental departments. Every year, the minister submits a budget to the legislature outlining anticipated expenditures and revenues for the next twelve months. The minister is also required to submit a completed financial report for the annual cycle just completed.

The Finance portfolio is the oldest cabinet position in the province, predating the office of Premier by four years. The first Provincial Secretary in Manitoba was Marc-Amable Girard, who was appointed to the position on September 16, 1870 by Lieutenant-Governor Adams George Archibald soon after his arrival in the province. Until January 1871, Girard and Provincial Secretary Alfred Boyd were the only members of Archibald's ministry.

Prior to 1977, it was not considered unusual for Manitoba's provincial premiers to reserve the position of Treasurer or Finance Minister for themselves. In the twentieth century, John Bracken, Stuart Garson, Douglas L. Campbell, Dufferin Roblin and Edward Schreyer all assumed this responsibility at one time or another (indeed, Roblin was his own Treasurer for the entire extent of his term in office). No premier has taken this responsibility since 1977, and such a combination of responsibilities would now be considered very unlikely.

Since the introduction of partisan politics in 1888, all Manitoba Finance Ministers have belonged to the governing party of the day. During the coalition ministry which governed Manitoba from 1940 to 1950, the posiition was reserved for members of the dominant Liberal-Progressive Party.

The current Finance Minister of Manitoba is Greg Selinger of the New Democratic Party. In early 2005, Selinger indicated that his department would soon move to a system known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which had already been adopted in most other provinces.

[edit] List of Treasurers and Finance Ministers in Manitoba

	Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office
	Marc-Amable Girard		September 16, 1870	March 14, 1872
	Thomas Howard		March 14, 1872	July 8, 1874
	Robert A. Davis		July 8, 1874	October 16, 1878
	John Norquay		October 16, 1878	August 27, 1886
	Alphonse LaRiviere		August 31, 1886	December 26, 1887
	David H. Harrison		December 26, 1887	January 19, 1888
	Lyman Jones	Liberal	January 19, 1888	May 7, 1889
	Daniel H. McMillan	Liberal	May 7, 1889	January 6, 1900
	John Andrew Davidson	Conservative	January 10, 1900	November 14, 1903
	John Hume Agnew	Conservative	March 2, 1904	November 4, 1908
	Hugh Armstrong	Conservative	November 19, 1908	May 12, 1915
	Edward Brown	Liberal	May 12, 1915	August 8, 1922
	Francis Black	Progressive	August 8, 1922	January 12, 1925
	John Bracken	Progressive	January 18, 1925	May 27, 1932
	Ewan McPherson	Liberal-Progressive	May 27, 1932	September 21, 1936
	Stuart Garson	Liberal-Progressive	September 21, 1936	November 13, 1948
	John Cameron Dryden	Liberal-Progressive	December 14, 1948	February 16, 1950
	Douglas L. Campbell	Liberal-Progressive	February 16, 1950	December 1, 1951
	Ronald Turner	Liberal-Progressive	December 1, 1951	July 6, 1956
	Charles Greenlay	Liberal-Progressive	July 6, 1956	June 30, 1958
	Dufferin Roblin	Progressive Conservative	June 30, 1958	July 22, 1966
	Edward Gurney Evans	Progressive Conservative	July 22, 1966	July 17, 1969
	Saul Cherniack	New Democratic Party	July 17, 1969	November 13, 1972
	Edward Schreyer	New Democratic Party	November 13, 1972	May 2, 1973
	Saul Cherniack	New Democratic Party	May 2, 1973	January 8, 1975
	Edward Schreyer	New Democratic Party	January 8, 1975	September 22, 1976
	Saul Miller	New Democratic Party	September 22, 1976	October 24, 1977
	Donald Craik	Progressive Conservative	October 24, 1977	January 16, 1981
	Brian Ransom	Progressive Conservative	January 16, 1981	November 30, 1981
	Victor Schroeder	New Democratic Party	November 30, 1981	April 17, 1986
	Eugene Kostyra	New Democratic Party	April 17, 1986	May 9, 1988
	Clayton Manness	Progressive Conservative	May 9, 1988	September 10, 1993
	Eric Stefanson	Progressive Conservative	September 10, 1993	February 5, 1999
	Harold Gilleshammer	Progressive Conservative	February 5, 1999	October 5, 1999
	Greg Selinger	New Democratic Party	October 5, 1999	present