Felix Holtmann (born December 5, 1944) is a former Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 1993, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Holtmann was born in Rosser, Manitoba, and educated at the University of Manitoba, Warren College and Jessups School of Advanced Dairy Science. He received a diploma in agriculture and worked as a farmer. Before entering political life, he was a member of various hog marketing and advisory boards.

He was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1984 federal election,[1] defeating New Democratic Party incumbent Terry Sargeant by 662 votes in Selkirk—Interlake[2] amid a national landslide victory for the PC Party under Brian Mulroney. He was re-elected[1] by an increased plurality in the 1988 election, for the redistributed riding of Portage—Interlake.[3] During his time as a parliamentarian, Holtmann served as a backbench supporter of the Mulroney and Kim Campbell governments.

He was defeated in the 1993 election,[1] finishing third against Liberal candidate Jon Gerrard.[3] He attempted a comeback in the 1997 election, but lost[1] to Liberal John Harvard in Charleswood—Assiniboine.[4] He also sought the nomination of the Canadian Alliance party in the new riding of Portage—Lisgar for the 2000 election but lost to Brian Pallister who went on to win the seat in the general election.

Holtmann was arrested on drunk driving charges in 2002. Although he admitted drinking that night, he denied being impaired. He was acquitted by the courts on April 26, 2007, with the judge saying that although there was some evidence of impairment, there was still room for reasonable doubt.[5] On the evening of June 4, 2015, Holtmann was arrested for drunk driving. He went to court on September 3, 2015. The judge in the case Lynne Stannard told Holtmann, "I don’t see a lot of 70-year-old people in court because they have figured it out, at your age, you should know better and shame on you for not." Stannard fined Holtmann $1,600 and prohibited him from driving for one year.[6]

Election results

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1984 Canadian federal election: Selkirk—Interlake
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Felix Holtmann 13,750 40.7 +4.7
New Democratic Terry Sargeant 13,088 38.7 -7.0
Liberal Ed Anderson 3,510 10.4 -7.7
Confederation of Regions Doug Stefanson 3,301 9.8
Libertarian Bob Quenett 163 0.5
Total valid votes 33,812
History of Federal Ridings since 1867: SELKIRK--INTERLAKE, Manitoba (1976 - 1987), Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
1988 Canadian federal election: Portage—Interlake
Party Candidate Votes
Progressive Conservative Felix Holtmann 13,307
Liberal R. Harvey Harland 10,381
New Democratic Gerry Follows 6,372
Reform Alan Beachell 4,054
Libertarian Dennis Rice 229
History of Federal Ridings since 1867: PORTAGE--INTERLAKE, Manitoba (1987 - 1996), Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
1993 Canadian federal election: Portage—Interlake
Party Candidate Votes % Expenditures
Liberal Jon Gerrard 14,506 40.68 $48,438
Reform Don Sawatsky 9,801 27.48 $40,040
Progressive Conservative Felix Holtmann 7,036 19.73 $67,866
New Democratic Connie Gretsinger 3,029 8.49 $6,976
National Mel Christian 935 2.62 $2,756
Natural Law Gary Schwartz 179 0.50 $0
Libertarian Dennis Rice 92 0.26 $275
Canada Party Hans C. Kjear 83 0.23 $0
Total valid votes 35,661 100.00
Total rejected ballots 119
Turnout 35,780 69.10
Electors on the lists 51,779
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada.
1997 Canadian federal election: Charleswood—Assiniboine
Party Candidate Votes % Expenditures
Liberal John Harvard 15,925 43.0 $37,585
Progressive Conservative Felix Holtmann 8,664 23.4 $51,089
Reform Cyril McFate 8,398 22.7 $21,501
New Democratic Rupert Forde 3,923 10.6 $1,850
Marxist–Leninist Mary Stanley 154 0.4 $11
Total valid votes 37,064 100.0
Total rejected ballots 262 0.4
Turnout 37,326 67.6
History of Federal Ridings since 1867: CHARLESWOOD--ASSINIBOINE, Manitoba (1996 - 1998), Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2010.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d HOLTMANN, Felix, Dip. Agric., Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  2. ^ History of Federal Ridings since 1867: SELKIRK--INTERLAKE, Manitoba (1976 - 1987), Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  3. ^ a b History of Federal Ridings since 1867: PORTAGE--INTERLAKE, Manitoba (1987 - 1996), Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  4. ^ History of Federal Ridings since 1867: CHARLESWOOD--ASSINIBOINE, Manitoba (1996 - 1998), Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  5. ^ Former Conservative MP cleared of drunk driving charges, Winnipeg Free Press, April 27, 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Ex-MP Holtmann busted for drunk driving". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved October 23, 2015.