Former Manitoba premier Greg Selinger was surrounded by family, supporters and former colleagues Tuesday as his portrait was unveiled at the legislature.
It was a rare occasion in the spotlight for Selinger, who has kept a low public profile since leaving politics in 2018 — two years after his New Democrats were defeated by the Progressive Conservatives.
The painting, which will hang in a hallway next to the portraits of his predecessors, depicts Selinger on the front porch of his home, holding a quilt made by his wife.
He said the choice of location was deliberate.
“There’s that old expression ‘all politics are local,’ so you start from your front door every morning. You step out the front door and you make the best of every day,” Selinger said.
The quilt is a metaphor for how to live — with individual pieces, like people, coming together to create something better, he said.
Selinger had a nearly 30-year career in politics, after first being elected to Winnipeg city council in 1989.
He went on to run for the NDP in the St. Boniface riding in the 1999 provincial election. He won the seat and was appointed finance minister by then-premier Gary Doer, a role he served in for 10 years before becoming NDP leader and premier in 2009, following Doer’s resignation.
He led the party to its fourth straight majority government in the October 2011 general election, but the NDP was defeated by the Progressive Conservatives in 2016.
Selinger resigned two years later. He was succeeded as NDP leader by now Premier Wab Kinew, who led the party to an election win over the PCs last October.