Theresa Oswald

Minister of Health

Biography

• Minister of Health
• First appointed to Cabinet in 2004
• First elected in 2003

Theresa was first elected to represent Seine River in 2003, and was re-elected in 2007 and 2011. Her first year in office Theresa served as the Premier’s Legislative Assistant.  In October 2004 Premier Doer appointed Theresa as the Minister of Healthy Living, with responsibility for Seniors and Healthy Child Manitoba. In September 2006 Premier Doer appointed her Minister of Health, a portfolio she has maintained under Premier Greg Selinger.

Theresa had the privilege in 2005 of serving as the chair for the Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures Task Force, which had a mandate to seek input from Manitobans concerning physical activity, nutrition and injury prevention for children. In June of 2005 the task force released a report containing 47 recommendations on which the government is enthusiastically making progress.

Before launching her political career, Theresa spent eleven years teaching English at Glenlawn Collegiate where she connected with hundreds of students and parents. She earned a reputation as an outstanding teacher with high expectations, and an array of teaching strategies to support all learners in meeting those expectations. Theresa also served as a vice-principal at an exceptional needs school in the Louis Riel School Division. There she had first-hand experience in dealing with children and parents who had significant issues with poverty and unemployment, immigration, illiteracy, and anxieties associated with fleeing war-torn countries.

As English Department Head and Coordinator of the Student Leadership course, Theresa developed expertise in both the theory and practice of strong leadership. As Partnerships Coordinator at Glenlawn, Theresa forged and maintained meaningful connections for the school and community with organizations including the Victoria Hospital, the Royal Bank, the Zoological Society of Manitoba and Take Pride Winnipeg!

Theresa believes that active learning gives life its shape, its force and its beauty. She is an avid reader and book club member, a Winnipeg Jets fan, a theatre-goer, a traveler, a singer, and an activist for environmental, women’s and youth issues.