[2] He was educated at Vincent Massey High School in Brandon, Manitoba and the Bryan College of Court Reporting in Los Angeles, California.
The Progressive Conservatives won a minority government in the election that followed; McCrae was re-elected[1] over Liberal candidate John Worley by 1,421 votes,[4] with the NDP falling to third place.
[1] McCrae was easily re-elected in the 1990 provincial election,[1] defeating NDP candidate and future Brandon mayor Shari Decter Hirst.
[1] As Justice Minister, McCrae was responsible for implementing Canada's first administrative licence suspension program for impaired drivers.
[1] During his time as Health Minister, McCrae made the controversial decision to shut down the emergency rooms in Winnipeg's community hospitals in favour of more centralized E.R.
A further cabinet shuffle on January 6, 1997, made McCrae Minister of Environment and Government House Leader, with responsibility for the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act.
[1] As Environment Minister, McCrae was criticized by the Sierra Club for refusing to bring in plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.