Civil servant, lawyer, community activist.
Born at Winnipeg in 1947, eldest son of Howard Russell Sanders (1888-1949) and Nellie McNichol, he was educated at Grosvenor School, Ridley College (St. Catharines, Ontario), and the University of Manitoba. While at the latter, he served as Editor of the student newspaper, The Manitoban, and was President of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (1966). He worked as a journalist at the Winnipeg Tribune (1965-1968) then spent 18 years as a provincial civil servant in the Department of Health, where he helped to implement medicare, and the Department of Urban Affairs, eventually serving as Deputy Minister under Premiers Schreyer, Pawley, and Lyon.
As an Assistant Deputy Minister in a Progressive Conservative government, he ran as a New Democrat in the 1981 general election. He chaired the provincial interdepartmental planning board and the committee that developed the first Core Area Agreement under which funds were secured to buy The Forks. He co-chaired the Canada-Manitoba Agreement on Recreation and Conservation on the Red River Corridor. Later called to the Manitoba Bar, he offered free legal services to various community groups.
He taught courses in city planning, political studies, public administration, and natural resource management at the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba. In 2014, he ran for Mayor of Winnipeg, finishing fifth in a group of seven candidates. He was later appointed Chair of the Manitoba Taxicab Board.
He was married twice, first to Lacey MacKenzie with whom he had four children. He later married Françoise.
He died at Winnipeg on 12 June 2016.
“High praise for city’s vigilant watchdog,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 June 2016, page A5.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 16 June 2016.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 September 2024
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
