About Manitoba's Commissioner of Elections
The Commissioner of Elections is an independent officer who is responsible for ensuring
compliance with and enforcement of The Elections Act (EA) and
The Elections Finances Act (EFA).
Generally speaking, the Commissioner's role involves taking corrective action when
the law is infringed.
Amendments to The EA and The EFA
that came into effect on December 13, 2006 created the position
of Commissioner and transferred investigative and prosecutorial responsibilities from the
Chief Electoral Officer.
The Commissioner is appointed under section 186 of The Elections Act and, although appointed by
the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner's authority is separate from and independent of the
Chief Electoral Officer. The Chief Electoral Officer makes the appointment after consulting with the
leaders of the political parties represented in the Assembly.
The current Commissioner: Bill Bowles
Bill Bowles is a lawyer and was a partner with Aikins, MacAulay and Thorvaldson for 15 years, where
he practiced primarily in the areas of general commercial litigation and insurance law. Since 1998,
Mr. Bowles has served as President of Almost Paper, Inc., a company that develops document management
software for legal professionals.
His appointment as Commissioner of Elections became effective March 14, 2011.
The first Commissioner, Michael T. Green, was appointed in December 2006.