| Mervin C. Tweed | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Rick Borotsik |
| MLA for Turtle Mountain | |
| In office 1995–2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Bob Rose |
| Succeeded by | Cliff Cullen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 6, 1955 Medora, Manitoba |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Bev Tweed |
| Residence | Brandon, Manitoba |
| Profession | Automobile dealer |
Mervin C. Tweed, MP (born August 6, 1955 in Medora, Manitoba) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He currently sits as the Member of Parliament for Brandon—Souris. Prior to that he was a member of the Manitoba Legislature from 1995 to 2004, representing the constituency of Turtle Mountain.
Tweed was born in Medora, Manitoba, and was educated at Brandon University. He operated a used car dealership for seventeen years, and was for a time an executive member of the Killarney and Area Recreation Committee.
Tweed began his political career in municipal politics, serving as a councillor in the rural municipality of Brenda for five years, and as deputy reeve for three. In 1995, he was elected to the Manitoba legislature as a Progressive Conservative in Turtle Mountain, a safe seat for the party. He served as a parliamentary assistant to a variety of ministers in the government of Premier Gary Filmon before being appointed Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism with responsibility for the Development Corporation Act on February 5, 1999.
Tweed was easily re-elected in the 1999 provincial election, although the Progressive Conservatives were defeated at the provincial level by the New Democratic Party under Gary Doer. Tweed resigned his cabinet portfolio with the rest of the Filmon ministry.
Despite the NDP's landmark election win of 2003, Tweed was again re-elected in Turtle Mountain without difficulty, receiving 3956 votes against 1893 for New Democrat Lonnie Patterson.
When federal Conservative MP Rick Borotsik (Brandon-Souris), announced his retirement in 2004, Tweed resigned his provincial seat and won the Conservative nomination for the riding. He received 18,209 votes in the general election, against 8522 for Liberal Murray Downing.
Following the election, Tweed was named opposition critic for Western Economic Diversification by Conservative leader Stephen Harper. He easily retained his seat in the 2006 election and 2008 election.
| 2006 federal election : Brandon—Souris edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Conservative | (x)Merv Tweed | 20,247 | 54.43 | $50,287.96 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Bob Senff | 7,528 | 20.24 | $7,119.25 | ||
| Liberal | Murray Downing | 6,696 | 18.00 | $20,605.00 | ||
| Green | Brad Bird | 1,707 | 4.59 | $15.50 | ||
| Independent | Mike Volek | 611 | 1.64 | $4,238.60 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Colin Atkins | 290 | 0.78 | $1,380.45 | ||
| Communist | Lisa Gallagher | 120 | 0.32 | $295.28 | ||
| Total valid votes | 37,199 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 138 | |||||
| Turnout | 37,337 | 60.32 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 61,903 | |||||
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.
| 2004 federal election : Brandon—Souris edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Conservative | Merv Tweed | 18,209 | 51.72 | $54,284.31 | ||
| Liberal | Murray Downing | 8,522 | 24.21 | $26,903.84 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Mike Abbey | 6,740 | 19.15 | $13,512.95 | ||
| Green | David Kattenburg | 1,264 | 3.59 | $1,322.83 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Colin Atkins | 351 | 1.00 | $683.41 | ||
| Communist | Lisa Gallagher | 118 | 0.34 | $665.22 | ||
| Total valid votes | 35,204 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 194 | |||||
| Turnout | 35,398 | 56.24 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 62,938 | |||||
Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000. Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.