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Become a Bencher

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2025 By-Election Voter List

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Candidate Nomination Form

2025 Bencher By-Election – Important Dates

  • Friday, May 16 | 5:00 p.m.

  • Wednesday, May 21

    Voting Polls Open

  • Tuesday, June 10 | 5:00 p.m.

    Voting Polls Close

  • Wednesday, June 11

    Election Results Determined

For questions about the electoral process, please contact Rennie Stonyk at rstonyk@lawsociety.mb.ca.

Who Qualifies to Run as a Candidate?

A candidate for election as a Bencher must:

  • Be a practising lawyer on Monday, April 21, 2025,  and have their name on the voters’ list;
  • Maintain their principal office in the City of Winnipeg Electoral District; and
  • Not be a Life Bencher or an Ex-Officio Bencher.
Candidate Nomination Form

In this Behind the Scenes chat, learn what motivated elected benchers Mathieu Lafreniere and Sharyne Hamm to join the bencher table.

If you have any questions about Becoming a Bencher, please contact any one of the following:

Leah Kosokowsky, Chief Executive Officer204-926-2030lkosokowsky@lawsociety.mb.ca
Gerri Wiebe, KC, President204-949-8122gerri.wiebe@gwslaw.ca
Wayne Onchulenko, Past President204-957-6402wonchulenko@ltglc.ca

Bencher Positions

Elected Positions

Elections for 12 bencher positions are held every second year. To be eligible as a candidate for election, a member of the society must be a practising lawyer on the 1st Monday in March of the election year, maintain a principal office in the district in which they seeks to be a candidate and must be nominated in accordance with the rules.

Appointed Positions

During the bencher election process, a call for applications for the appointed bencher positions will be made to both the profession and the public.  The appointment process ensures that applicants with unique skill sets and abilities and from diverse backgrounds are eligible for appointment.

Practising Lawyer Benchers

Four lawyers are appointed, to serve for a two year term. At least one of the lawyers must be from the Winnipeg District and one must be from outside of Winnipeg.

Lay Benchers

Six public representatives are appointed for a two year term in each election year by a Committee chaired by the Chief Justice of the Province of Manitoba.