Brian Ransom

Brian Ransom (June 6, 1940—February 26, 2020) was a Manitoba politician.[1] In 1983, he unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.[2]

Ransom was born in Boissevain, Manitoba, and was educated at the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta. He worked as a resource manager and farmer before entering public life.

He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1977, representing the rural riding of Souris-Killarney. In that year, Sterling Lyon's Progressive Conservatives won an upset victory over Edward Schreyer's New Democrats. Following the election, Ransom was appointed Minister of Mines, Resources and Environment. Following a reorganization of cabinet in 1979, he became Minister of Natural Resources and Chairman of the Treasury Board. In January 1981, he was promoted to Minister of Finance.[1]

Ransom did not serve long in this position, as Lyon's government fell to the NDP under Howard Pawley later in the year. Ransom, who was easily re-elected in the riding of Turtle Mountain, defeating Johannson by 3,115 votes.[3] He ran for the party's leadership in 1983 as a representative of the party's rural/conservative wing, but was defeated on the second ballot by Gary Filmon, who was then regarded as a progressive.[2] Subsequently, supporters of Ransom would allege that the Filmon camp encouraged third-place candidate Clayton Manness to run as a means of splitting the conservative vote.

Ransom did not seek re-election in 1986. He subsequently became chairman of the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board,[4] and worked as a consultant in sustainable development.