Dennis Heeney

Who is Dennis Heeney?

Dennis Heeney was a Manitoba politician. In the provincial elections of 1986 and 1988, he was the leader of the province's Confederation of Regions Party, a group that opposed the extension of French-language rights and sought greater autonomy for western Canada.

Heeney was serving as the reeve of the Rural Municipality of Elton in 1983 when he became active in a provincial controversy over the entrenchment of francophone services. At the time, NDP Premier Howard Pawley was attempting to reintroduce French-language services into the province's parliament and legal system. Heeney spoke out against the initiative at a public meeting in Brandon, claiming that it would effectively amount to granting special privileges for only 6% of Manitoba's population. Heeney subsequently became involved in Manitoba Grassroots, an anti-bilingualism coalition led by renegade NDP backbencher Russell Doern. In February 1984, he led a protest outside a Brandon NDP convention.

Later in the year, Heeney ran as a candidate for the national Confederation of Regions Party in the federal riding of Brandon-Souris. He received 6322 votes, finishing second to Progressive Conservative candidate Lee Clark.