Cliff Cullen

Cliff Cullen (born November 8, 1962) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election, held in the summer of 2004.[1]

Cullen was raised on a farm near Wawanesa, Manitoba, and subsequently attended the University of Manitoba, where he received a Diploma in Agriculture.[2] He has worked in the agricultural and environmental sectors, and also has experience as an insurance broker.

When Turtle Mountain MLA Mervin Tweed resigned from the provincial legislature in 2004 (to run for the House of Commons of Canada), Cullen sought and won the Progressive Conservative nomination to succeed him.[1] Turtle Mountain is a safe Progressive Conservative seat, and Cullen was elected with about 60% of the popular vote on June 29, 2004.[3] He was sworn in on July 15.

Cullen's main issue during the 2004 campaign was the ongoing crisis in Canada's cattle industry, resulting from a single case of BSE being found in a Canadian cow.

Cullen won a full term in 2007. For the 2011 provincial election, Turtle Mountain was abolished, and Cullen transferred to Spruce Woods, which absorbed the western portion of Turtle Mountain. He won this riding easily, with 66 percent of the vote.[1]

On May 3, 2016, Cullen was appointed to the Executive Council of Manitoba as Minister of Growth, Enterprise and Trade.

[4][5]

On August 17, 2017, Cullen was named Minister of Crown Services and Government House Leader[6]

On January 24th, 2020, Cullen made the decision to shut down the Dauphin Correctional Centre without holding council with anyone in the area or any shareholders. The city of Dauphin calls this day Black Friday. Cullen displaced dozens of families with his decision and under guise of saying nobody would be without a job and that local jobs would be available, however, some 50 employees were left to be laid off during a global pandemic. Another 20 transferred while just 6 employees were offered positions in the city of Dauphin.[7]