Spruce Woods MLA Cliff Cullen is into the twilight of his provincial political career, and he has taken on a new role with the Province of Manitoba.
In Monday’s cabinet shuffle Cullen was named Finance Minister, minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro and he remained Deputy Premier. Premier Heather Stefanson has rejigged her Cabinet, in part, to fill portfolios left by departing MLAs such as Cameron Friesen. His role as the province's Finance minister was handed over to MLA Cliff Cullen.
“Clearly, I’m looking forward to the new and important role with government. We have the provincial budget coming up in the next few months. I’m eager to get my hands on the file. I had the opportunity to serve on treasury board as well and also as my role as Deputy Premier I kept an eye on the budgetary process.”
The next provincial budget is expected to be released sometime this spring.
As far as settling into his new position with the provincial government Cliff Cullen says it should be a smooth transition. “Certainly, a lot of work has been done in preparation for the budget. My past experience gives some in-site into that already. Just looking forward to it but there will be some fine tuning as we get closer to budget day and I look forward to working with the treasury board on that,” said Cliff Cullen.
Cullen announced at the end of December he wasn’t seeking re-election.