Brian Ransom

Brian Ransom (born June 6, 1940) was a Manitoba politician. In 1983, he unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.

Ransom was born in Boissevain, Manitoba, and was educated at the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta. He worked as a resource manager and farmer before entering public life.

He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1977, representing the rural riding of Souris-Killarney. In that year, Sterling Lyon's Progressive Conservatives won an upset victory over Edward Schreyer's New Democrats. Following the election, Ransom was appointed Minister of Mines, Resources and Environment. Following a reorganization of cabinet in 1979, he became Minister of Natural Resources and Chairman of the Treasury Board. In January 1981, he was promoted to Minister of Finance.

Ransom did not serve long in this position, as Lyon's government fell to the NDP under Howard Pawley later in the year. Ransom, who was easily re-elected in his own riding, ran for the party's leadership in 1983 as a representative of the party's rural/conservative wing. He was defeated on the second ballot by Gary Filmon, who was then regarded as a progressive. Subsequently, supporters of Ransom would allege that the Filmon camp encouraged third-place candidate Clayton Manness to run as a means of splitting the conservative vote.

Ransom did not seek re-election in 1986. He subsequently became chairman of the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, and worked as a consultant in sustainable development.