Read the complete write-up of Heather Stefanson net worth, age, husband, children, height, family, parents, premier as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Heather Stefanson is a Canadian politician who has served as the 24th premier of Manitoba since November 2, 2021. She is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and sits as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), representing the electoral district of Tuxedo.
Early life
| Name | Heather Stefanson |
| Net Worth | $5 million |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Height | 1.73m |
| Age | 51 years |
Heather Dorothy Stefanson MLA was born on May 11, 1970 (age 51 years) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She was raised in Winnipeg, where she attended St. John’s-Ravenscourt School. She received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Western Ontario. After receiving her degree, Stefanson worked as a special assistant in the Office of the Prime Minister under Brian Mulroney before returning to Manitoba in 1993 as an assistant to federal Agriculture Minister Charlie Mayer.
Stefanson was an investment advisor for Wellington West Capital in Winnipeg from 1995 to 2000. In 2003, Wellington West Capital was fined $13,000 for failing to supervise the activities of Stefanson. She had been suspended from acting in the capacity of a registered representative but had issued statements to clients indicating her as a registered representative during this suspension. Stefanson was a member of the University of Manitoba’s Young Associates organization.
Political career
Heather Stefanson was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a 2000 by-election, replacing former Progressive Conservative Premier Gary Filmon in the south Winnipeg riding of Tuxedo. Stefanson defeated Liberal Rochelle Zimberg by 2692 votes to 1586; Iona Starr, representing the governing New Democratic Party (NDP), finished third Stefanson was easily re-elected in the 2003 election, with the NDP improving to second-place status.
Stefanson was re-elected in the 2007, 2011, 2016, and 2019 elections. In 2016, Premier Brian Pallister named Stefanson deputy premier and the minister of justice and attorney general. In 2018, she became the minister of families in addition to her role as deputy premier. In 2021, she took over the health portfolio; Kelvin Goertzen became deputy premier.
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During Manitoba’s third wave of Covid-19 Heather Stefanson claimed on May 18, 2021, that Manitoba’s health system could handle an additional 50 patients in the ICU for a total of 170, however later that day she announced ICU beds were at capacity and two patients had been sent to Thunder Bay for treatment. Shared Health had been aware that the healthcare system was unable to handle 170 patients, and on May 7 chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa called a previous exercise showing capacity at 173 ICU beds a “paper exercise” that “did not reflect the reality of Manitoba’s capacity”.
On May 13, 2021, Shared Health CEO Adam Topp attended a meeting regarding Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and ICU capacity, however, Stefanson claims she was not aware of this meeting and didn’t know about the out-of-province transfer until after the decision was made. In total, Manitoba transferred 57 Covid-19 patients out of the province during the third wave, 12 of whom died while being treated out of the province.
Premier of Manitoba
After Pallister announced his impending retirement, Heather Stefanson announced that she would run in the 2021 Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba leadership election. She was the first PC party member to announce their candidacy in the election and had the support of two-thirds of the PC caucus. She narrowly won the race with 363 votes over her opponent, Shelly Glover.
Heather Stefanson was sworn in as Manitoba’s first female premier on November 2, 2021. On March 21, Stephanson released her leadership campaign financials revealing that she took in $576,625 in campaign donations, $360,000 of that money came from 120 individuals who donated the maximum amount of $3,000.
Stefanson admitted on January 27, 2022, to breaking conflict of interest rules when she failed to disclose over 31 million dollars in property sales. As an MLA, Stefanson had listed these properties among her assets, but then stopped, when the properties sold she did not file any disclosures as required.
On March 15, Stefanson received widespread criticism for responding to Wab Kinew’s question about Krystal Mousseau, an ICU patient who died during a failed transfer to a hospital out of Manitoba with a boast about her son’s performance at a hockey game. Two days later Stefanson issued a brief written apology.
The NDP has been calling for an inquiry into the circumstances of the death citing a letter from the regional health authority that released a letter explaining that the transfer team was lacking critical monitoring equipment and training, additionally, the patient was being given medication at the wrong rate. On March 22, Stefanson admitted during a radio interview that she had not reached out to Mousseau’s family to offer an apology or condolences.
Heather Stefanson was criticized for making excuses for the out-of-province transfers saying “Manitoba was no exception, this is what’s happening across the country.”, however, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were the only provinces that transferred ICU patients out of the province.
On April 6, Dan Roberts, a critical care physician and professor of medicine at the University of Manitoba, called on the government to open an inquiry into Krystal Mousseau’s death. He also criticized the Manitoba Conservative Party for “privatizing and dismantling” much of Manitoba’s Air Ambulance Service in 2017 a change that was criticized by physicians who warned this move would compromise patient safety.
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Heather Stefanson’s absence from the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, one of the largest agricultural events in Western Canada, was criticized by many who noted that she consistently is ranked as the most unpopular premier in Canada.
Stefanson’s reason given for missing the fair was she was on vacation with her son for spring break, Kelly Saunders, a professor at Brandon University, said she couldn’t remember any other premier skipping the event in over 20 years, noting that it was surprising for the premier to miss this important agricultural event in Manitoba’s second-largest city.
She has received criticism for repeatedly missing question periods to attend press conferences instead. Nahanni Fontaine said Heather Stefanson’s refusal to participate in the question period prevented MLAs from doing their jobs. Liberal MLA Jon Gerrard noted that these absences may contribute to further erosion of trust in the provincial government.
Husband
Heather Stefanson is married to Jason Stefanson, they had their wedding in the 1900s. Her husband is a private person and they have two children Victoria Stefanson and Tommy Stefanson. The couple lives in a private house in Winnipeg. Her salary for 2022 ranges from $162,574 to $475,483, but with bonuses, benefits and various other compensation, she made significantly more than her salary in the year 2020.
Heather Stefanson net worth
How much is Heather Stefanson worth? Heather Stefanson net worth is estimated at around $5 million. Her main source of income is from her career as a politician and property sales executive. Stefanson successful career has earned her some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars trips. She is one of the richest and influential politicians in Canada.