Murray Downing

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Murray Downing (born February 7, 1956 in Virden, Manitoba) is a Canadian farmer and politician. In the Canadian federal election of 2004, he was a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada in the southwestern Manitoba riding of Brandon-Souris. He was nominated as the Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Brandon-Souris once again in the Canadian federal election of 2006.

Downing took over the management of a family farm in 1975, and continues to operate it to this day. In recent years, he has been responsible for creating the Income Insurance Program, an organization for farmers affiliated with the Grassroots Producers group. In his capacity as leader of this group, he has led numerous meetings in rural communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Downing became the Liberal Party candidate in Brandon-Souris after incumbent MP Rick Borotsik declined to run for either the Liberal or Conservative parties (originally a Progressive Conservative, Borotsik refused to campaign for the new Conservative Party after Stephen Harper became its leader). During the 2004 federal election, Downing received 8522 votes (about 25% of the total cast), finishing second to Conservative candidate Merv Tweed. Downing emphasized farmers's issues during the campaign. During the Canadian federal election of 2006, Downing received 6,696 votes (or 18% of the total cast), which put him in third place after Bob Senff.