Gregory Francis Selinger OM (born February 16, 1951)[2] is a former Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016,[3][4][5] leading an NDP government.

[7][8] He came to Manitoba from Saskatchewan as a child with his single mother, who ran a small clothing store in Winnipeg.

[14] Following his failed mayoral bid, Selinger stepped back from politics and returned to teaching at the University of Manitoba.

This followed a request from Auditor General Jon Singleton, who criticized the government for listing crown corporation losses and other matters as off-budget spending.

[3] On September 8, 2009, Selinger resigned from his cabinet position and announced his candidacy for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba.

[25] Despite predictions of defeat, Selinger led the NDP to its fourth straight majority government in the October 2011 general election, surpassing Doer's record and winning 37 seats.

In April 2013, the Selinger government reneged on an earlier promise to not increase sales taxes by implementing a 1% increase in the provincial sales tax rate from 7% to 8%, which resulted in a precipitous decline in popular support for the government and, ultimately, a caucus revolt against Selinger's leadership culminating in the resignation of five cabinet ministers.

[27][28] Due, in part, to the unpopularity of the tax increase, the NDP fell far behind the Progressive Conservatives in public opinion polls and never recovered.

In the fall of 2014 several cabinet ministers privately asked Selinger to resign in hopes that the party would recover under a new leader, but he declined.

The same day Selinger said in a statement he was saddened by their decisions but had made it clear they could either "focus on the priorities of Manitoba families as part of our team, or resign."