Anita Neville named Lieutenant governor of Manitoba
Congratulations to our new Lieutenant Governor, Anita Neville. She will be a wonderful successor to Her Honour, Janice Filmon, who was so well respected in vice-regal circles.
Anita comes to the role with a long career in political diplomacy behind her. She was the Liberal member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre in the government of Paul Martin from 2000 to 2011. She served as the Parliamentary Secretary to then Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez. In opposition she served as Critic for Indigenous Affairs and Critic for the Status of Women. Prior to her election, she served as a school trustee for Winnipeg School division Number One for many years.
Anita has a history of community service behind her. She was a director of Workforce 2000 and the Winnipeg Core Area Initiative and Employment Training Program and has also been involved in the Law Society of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Jewish Child and Family organization.
More recently, she has been one of the founding chairs of the Manitoba chapter of Equal Voice, an organization designed to help women become actively engaged in politics, both behind the scenes and as candidates.
Anita becomes the first Jewish woman to serve as Manitoba Lieutenant Governor and only the third in Canada. She is also only the third woman to be named Lieutenant Governor for Manitoba. The first was Pearl McGonigal, who served from 1981 to 1986.
The Lieutenant Governor serves for a term or no less than five years. During her tenure, Her Honour Janice Filmon, who served from 2015 to this year, was very active in involving members of the community to visit and learn more about the history of the office.