‘Enormous’ shoes to fill as Rossmere MLA named education minister

The Kinew government has undergone a cabinet shuffle to address the absence of late education minister Nello Altomare.

Altomare, two-term NDP MLA for Transcona, died on Jan. 14 while he was on medical leave. The 61-year-old educator, better known as “the mayor of Transcona” among his political colleagues, had been living with complications from chemotherapy.

On Thursday, one day after a public funeral, the province announced a series of operational changes that were formalized shortly after his death.

Tracy Schmidt, MLA for Rossmere, has moved ministerial files, from environment to education.

Riel MLA Mike Moyes — who was previously the NDP caucus chair, as well as a legislative assistant for both environment and education — will be responsible for Schmidt’s old portfolio.

The new caucus chair has yet to be made public.

Schmidt was tapped to serve as acting minister of education and early childhood learning when Altomare went on medical leave in October, in addition to overseeing the cabinet role she has held since the NDP was sworn-in one year earlier.

While she is not an educator by trade, Schmidt is the daughter of two teachers whose careers in the Winnipeg School Division span upwards of 80 years, combined.

In an interview with the Free Press, the rookie MLA said public education was the typical dinner-table topic in her home as a child.

“I grew up hearing about the needs of students on a daily basis,” she said, adding her parents, much like her predecessor, sought to help hungry students and those without proper winter gear whenever they could.

“There was times in the winter where I’d go to get dressed in the morning and my mitts might be missing or my boots might be missing and my mum would say, ‘Don’t worry about it; we’ll go shopping after school.’”

The mother of three sends all of her children, who range in age from nine to 14, to classes in the River East Transcona School Division.

Schmidt hinted she’s hopeful Premier Wab Kinew will issue her a revised mandate letter given Altomare accomplished an “exceptional” amount during his first year on the job.

The NDP rolled out a universal school nutrition program at the start of the school year.

“I’m just really excited to pick up that torch and do my best in working for students and families and educators across the province in his honour,” Schmidt said.

Prior to entering politics in 2023, she worked as a lawyer specializing in labour and employment law.

Schmidt noted many people, both within government and outside of it, are mourning the loss of the former education minister, and she is keeping the Altomare family in her thoughts as she accepts this “honour of a lifetime” role.

She added that she has “absolutely enormous” shoes to fill.

Moyes, who is also a parent of school-aged children, is among a number of certified teacher-members of the NDP caucus.

The new minister of environment and climate change taught English and history at Glenlawn Collegiate prior to his 2023 victory over former PC families minister Rochelle Squires.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she joined the newsroom as a reporter in 2019. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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