Dennis Rice

Dennis Rice is a Manitoba activist and politician. He was elected leader of the Libertarian Party of Manitoba in the 1990s, and resigned the position in 2003.

Rice works as a commercial strawberry salesman in rural Manitoba. He has campaigned for the provincial legislature several times, though he has never come close to being elected.

Rice does not subscribe to an extreme, egoistic version of libertarian philosophy. In 1999, he argued in favour of private, voluntaristic charity in a web-article entitled "Free Markets and Volunteerism". He has also written in support of the right-wing/neo-liberal farming groups associated with the Canadian Farm Enterprise Network.

Rice first ran as an LPM candidate in 1988, at age 21. Campaigning in the Winnipeg riding of St. James, he received 69 votes, as compared with 3939 for the winning candidate, future Manitoba Liberal Party leader Paul Edwards. In 1990, he ran in the rural riding of Lakeside and received 95 votes, against 3719 for veteran Progressive Conservative MLA Harry Enns. He also participated in a 1992 by-election in Crescentwood, receiving only 19 votes.

At some point in the 1990s, Rice replaced Clancy Smith as leader of the LPM. He may have been the party's leader in 1995 when he campaigned in the rural riding of Morris, receiving 135 votes; he was certainly the LPM's leader in 1999, when he received 107 votes in the same riding.

Rice resigned as LPM leader two days after the 2003 election was called. He was replaced as party leader by Chris Buors.

Rice has also campaigned federally for the Libertarian Party of Canada in 1988 (Portage-Interlake, 229 votes) and 1993 (Portage-Interlake, 92 votes).