Steven Fletcher works tirelessly for the people of Manitoba. Our province and our country helped Steven to live and to heal after a traumatic automobile collision with a moose. He was 23. It is through public service where Steven has dedicated his life to repay society for everything that society has allowed him to achieve.
At the age of 32, Steven Fletcher was elected to the Parliament of Canada in June of 2004 in the west Winnipeg riding of Charleswood – St. James – Assiniboia – Headingley.
He served 4 terms as a Member of Parliament (2004 – 2015) including 5 years in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In his 11 years as MP and/or Cabinet Minister, Steven played many key roles in the formation of the framework for many of our most cherished social and economic programs.
At the age of 36, Steven rose to serve in the federal cabinet and appointed to as a Member of the Queens Privy Council. This appointment allows the recipient to use the designation Honourable or P.C. for life.
In cabinet, Steven was a part of the key decision making bodies that served to support the economic viability of services and infrastructure after the global financial meltdown in 2008. He was the longest serving Member (2008 – 2013) on the federal treasury board and served on numerous cabinet committees. For a few years, Steven was also the Minister Responsible for some of the largest crown corporations in Canada.
In Steven’s time as Shadow of Minister of Health (2004 – 2006) and later Parliamentary Secretary for Health (2006 – 2008), Steven initiated and followed through on a broad range of important issues, including a national Cancer strategy, now known as the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, a national Mental Health strategy, and the Patient Wait-time Guarantee. These were all key issues in the 2006 Federal election. In addition, Steven worked with other parties to create or advocate for national Autism strategy, a cardiovascular strategy, and the elimination of trans fats from the food supply.
Steven is the first permanently disabled individual to be elected as a Member of Parliament and the first to be appointed to Federal Cabinet.
Steven introduced two pieces of legislation in the Federal Parliament in 2014 on ending the prohibition of medical assistance in dying. The wording of his legislation was included in a historic Supreme Court decision which endorsed Steven’s position on the issue.
In 2016, Steven was elected as a Member of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provincial riding of Assiniboia. In this role, Steven introduced a historic number of meritorious pieces of Legislation. He became Leader of the new Manitoba Party in 2018. He is also the first severely disabled person to be elected to the Manitoba Legislature and the first MLA to represent a political party that was not one of the traditional “Big 3”.
A proud graduate of the public school system, Steven went on to obtain an engineering degree and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Manitoba. During this time, Steven was elected twice as the University of Manitoba Students’ Union President (1999 – 2000, 2000 – 2001). He served on the Universities Board of Governors and many sub-committees.
After graduation from the MBA program, Steven served two terms as President of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba (2002 – 2003). At the time, Steven was one of the very few provincial conservatives who publicly supported Stephen Harper as Leader of the Canadian Alliance and his bid to “unite-the-right”, and create a new Party with the then, Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. In the fall and then spring of 2003 – 2004, Steven fought two hotly contested nominations, first for the Canadian Alliance, and then the newly formed Conservative Party of Canada.
He is a professional engineer (P.Eng) with the association of Professional Engineers and Geo-scientists of Manitoba. Steven (1995) and each of his siblings all graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. He has several accreditation’s from registered professional organizations and continues with education to keep current with our rapidly changing world.
Two biographies have been written about Steven’s life, authored by Linda McIntosh. What Do You Do If You Don’t Die – The Steven Fletcher Story and Master of My Fate, which discusses contemporary issues around end-of-life choices.
Steven was born in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. From the age of 5, Steven has lived in Winnipeg. He is the proud uncle of 6 nieces and nephews. He thinks his parents are awesome and that his siblings are okay, too.
In January 2020, Steven launched Fletcher Focus International Inc. (FFII). (www.fletcherfocus.com) FFII has a presence in four countries or three continents. (U.K., U.S.A., Canada, Brazil). This consulting firm harnesses the Fletcher family talent across a large spectrum of contemporary challenges with an engineering eye. Both Steven’s siblings, Gordon and Julia, and Steven’s brother-in-law, are all professional Engineers with a wide and unique scope of entrepreneurship, business experience, project management, public policy, with a focus on energy and the environment.
In 2005, Steven did a 5-minute skit with Rick Mercer. The humorous video, is very informative and Steven often uses the video as an introduction when speaking to students or adults. You can view the video with the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=steven+fletcher+mp