Rod Bruinooge facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rod E. Bruinooge
Rod Bruinooge 2016
Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South
In office January 23, 2006 – October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Reg Alcock
Succeeded by	Terry Duguid
Personal details
Born	(1973-05-06) May 6, 1973 (age 52) Thompson, Manitoba, Canada
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Chantale Bruinooge
Residences	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Profession	Entrepreneur, CEO, executive director, film producer

Rod E. Bruinooge was born on May 6, 1973. He is an Indigenous Canadian who has worked as a politician, a businessman, and a filmmaker. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Winnipeg South in the 2006 federal election. From 2006 to 2008, he served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

Mr. Bruinooge is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is an Indigenous Canadian of Métis background. He decided not to run for re-election in the 2015 federal election. In May 2016, Mr. Bruinooge became the CEO of Eventride. Later, in 2021, he was named the first Indigenous Film Commissioner for Manitoba. In 2024, he became the Chief Executive Officer of the Manitoba Research Network.

Early Life and Career

Rod Bruinooge's father came from the Netherlands. After moving to Canada, he married an Indigenous woman. Rod Bruinooge was born in Thompson, Manitoba. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Manitoba.

In the late 1990s, Mr. Bruinooge became the chief executive and president of Abject Modernity Internet Creations Ltd. He also worked as a consultant. He has served as a director for the River View Health Centre and the Manitoba Children's Museum. He also helped organize events for the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film and Video Festival and the North American Indigenous Games.

The Stone Online Game

In 1995, Mr. Bruinooge created an internet game and mystery called The Stone. He launched it for people to play in 1997. The game was inspired by a mystery involving hidden messages in the album art of Pink Floyd's The Division Bell. The Stone was featured in Forbes magazine in 1999 and in other international publications like USA Today.

In February 1999, Mr. Bruinooge held a launch event in Time Square in New York City. At this event, 999 copies of The Stone were given to guests. News channels like CNN covered the launch. The game was fully completed in 2007, and Mr. Bruinooge was involved in its final release.

Film and Television Work

In September 2004, Mr. Bruinooge and co-director Scott Jaworski released a film called Stoners. This film was about the online gaming community that grew around The Stone game. The film's soundtrack included music from Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, used with their permission.

Mr. Bruinooge started the Winnipeg International Film Festival in 2005. He was its executive director until February 2006. The festival showed Stoners during its first year. Some people in Winnipeg's arts community thought it was unusual for him to screen his own film, even though it was not part of the competition.

In 2020, Mr. Bruinooge appeared in an episode of CBC's Burden of Truth. He acted alongside Kristin Kreuk as a First Nation relative. Rod Bruinooge has been a member of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists union (ACTRA) since 2019.

In 2021, Mr. Bruinooge was appointed Interim-CEO for Manitoba Film and Music, a provincial agency. At that time, he became Canada's first Indigenous Film Commissioner. During his time as Film Commissioner, Mr. Bruinooge led a group of film industry and government officials on a trip to Los Angeles. This trip was on the first direct flight from Winnipeg to Los Angeles.

Political Career

Becoming a Candidate

Before he was elected in 2006, Mr. Bruinooge often ran for public office. He first tried to become a candidate for the provincial Progressive Conservative party in 2002. He later ran as the Conservative candidate for Winnipeg South in the 2004 federal election.

One of his campaign ads was a short film called "Big Tobacco." It compared the efforts of the government at the time to misleading tobacco advertising. This ad was shown before the movie Shrek 2 in some Winnipeg theaters. Mr. Bruinooge was one of only three Indigenous candidates for the Conservative Party in the 2004 election. He finished second in the election against the Liberal candidate, Reg Alcock.

Mr. Bruinooge tried again to become the Conservative candidate for Winnipeg South in 2005. He lost by a small number of votes to Hugh McFadyen. A few months later, he lost to McFadyen again in a provincial election contest.

Mr. McFadyen later decided to run for a provincial position, so Mr. Bruinooge was chosen as the Conservative candidate in his place. On January 18, 2006, a group called Vote Marriage Canada supported his candidacy. This group was against same-sex marriage. Even though Mr. Bruinooge was a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation, that group supported his opponent, Reg Alcock.

On election day, Mr. Bruinooge defeated Mr. Alcock by only 111 votes. This was a big surprise to many political observers. Mr. Bruinooge benefited from a national trend supporting his party.

As a Member of Parliament

The Conservatives won a minority government in the 2006 election. In February 2006, Mr. Bruinooge was appointed as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. He was the only Indigenous member of the government until Rob Clarke was elected in 2008. In January 2007, he helped sign a deal with Siemens to increase Indigenous employment.

Rod Bruinooge and Phil Fontaine in the House of Commons

During his time as Parliamentary Secretary, Mr. Bruinooge helped guide important laws through the House of Commons. These laws were for the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. On June 11, 2008, Canada officially apologized to the victims of Residential Schools. Mr. Bruinooge was part of the group that walked into the House of Commons with the Prime Minister and four Indigenous leaders.

In July 2007, Mr. Bruinooge said that a previous government's plan for Indigenous investment was just an "expensive press release." Assembly of First Nations leader Phil Fontaine strongly criticized this statement. In the same month, Mr. Bruinooge supported the government's efforts to put Canada's Indian Act under the rules of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Mr. Bruinooge then worked on a law to give First Nation reserves access to the Canadian Human Rights Act. This law, Bill C-21, was passed after he worked with other political parties and First Nation leaders. Because of this law, Indigenous child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock was able to file a claim for First Nations children. In April 2023, after almost 20 years, Ms. Blackstock reached a settlement with the government for 23 billion dollars for First Nations children affected by the child welfare system.

In January 2008, Mr. Bruinooge said the government was looking at ways to improve education and child-welfare programs in Manitoba.

He was re-elected in the 2008 federal election. After the election, Mr. Bruinooge turned down an offer to continue as Parliamentary Secretary. He wanted to focus on his riding and spend more time with his family.

In December 2008, Rod Bruinooge was chosen as the Chair of the Parliamentary Pro Life Caucus. In February 2009, Mr. Bruinooge started the Conservative Post-Secondary Education Caucus and became its chair. In April 2013, he led a group to Washington D.C. to meet with leaders in higher education. Mr. Bruinooge was also a vice-chair of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group.

In May 2011, Mr. Bruinooge wrote an article celebrating the improvements in Winnipeg. He mentioned the return of the Winnipeg Jets hockey team. He also highlighted new attractions like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the updated Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.

In May 2011, Mr. Bruinooge won his election with more than 50% of the votes. In January 2015, Mr. Bruinooge announced that he would not seek re-election.

Electoral Record (Winnipeg South)

All election information comes from Elections Canada.