In 2020, Elections Manitoba celebrated its 40th year as Manitoba’s independent electoral body. Join IPAC Manitoba and the Student Association of the Masters in Public Administration and Political Studies (SAMPA) for a discussion with Shipra Verma, Manitoba’s Chief Electoral Officer, moderated by Dr. Royce Koop, Associate Professor of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba. This event will cover the role of Elections Manitoba, the future of elections, and other topics.

For more information about Elections Manitoba, including their 40th anniversary, see their webpage.

About the Speakers

Shipra Verma, CPA, CA

Chief Electoral Officer of Manitoba

Shipra Verma is the Chief Electoral Officer of Manitoba, an Independent Officer of the Legislative Assembly. Ms. Verma has successfully led the conduct of the past three provincial general elections, as well as several byelections. She has also participated in international election observer programs in the U.S.A., Ukraine, Russia and India.

A Chartered Professional Accountant with credentials in Canada, the United States and India, Ms. Verma has over 20 years of experience consisting of election administration, public accounting and professional services.

She is active on the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), serving on its steering committee from 2016- 2019 and as President in 2018. She is currently Chair of the Canadian Society for Election Officials Training and a member of the steering committee of the Secretariat for Electoral Coordination. She also serves on the board of the Chartered Professional Accountants Manitoba and Council of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba.

Royce Koop, PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Political Studies, University of Manitoba

Royce Koop is an associate professor in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba, where he is also Coordinator of the Canadian Studies Program. Royce currently serves as the associate chair of the joint Master of Public Administration program shared between the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg, and also writes a bi-weekly analysis column in the Winnipeg Free Press.