Manitoba legislature approves $18,000 fine for former premier Heather Stefanson

Former premier Heather Stefanson has been fined $18,000 for violating Manitoba’s conflict of interest law.

WINNIPEG — Former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson has been fined $18,000 for violating the province’s conflict of interest law.

Members of the legislature have approved the penalty and other findings in a report from provincial ethics commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor.

Schnoor said Stefanson tried to get a mining project approved after her Progressive Conservatives lost the 2023 election and before the NDP government could be sworn in.

Schnoor said the attempt amounted to improperly furthering the interests of other people and went against a long-standing parliamentary principle that forbids outgoing governments from making major decisions.

Stefanson has said she was acting in the public interest, had no personal stake in the project, and no licence was issued in the end.

The Progressive Conservatives, now in Opposition, voted in favour of the report alongside the NDP and have said they’re not helping Stefanson pay the fine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press