Giesbrecht hopes to be chillin’ in Ottawa

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2015 (3296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Professor Popsicle can tell you how to survive in a car submerged in frigid water — but can the cold-weather survival physiology expert get Winnipeg South Tories to warm up to him?

And after that, the voters of Winnipeg South?

Prof. Gordon Giesbrecht announced this morning he is seeking the federal Tory nomination to succeed retiring MP Rod Bruinooge.

Businessman Jarret Hannah is already running.

“I’ve often considered running for public office,” said Giesbrecht.

The timing is right, with his three-year commitment as associate dean in the faculty of kinesiology and recreation management at the University of Manitoba ending, and the university’s new active living centre successfully opened.

Giesbrecht has been a professor at U of M since 1991, except for three years as president of Horizon College and Seminary in Saskatoon. He has conducted extensive research into hypothermia and winter and cold water submersion survival, which has led to his becoming an international expert and adviser to the military and wilderness groups, while developing his public persona of Professor Popsicle on television with hosts such as Rick Mercer and David Suzuki.

“I’m not going to shy away from it. (Voters) may know me only as Professor Popsicle,” Giesbrecht said in an interview. But, he said with a laugh, “I’m not going to be doing any cold stunts on the campaign.”

In a news release, Giesbrecht stated a long list of accomplishments, including chairing a settlement committee for Kosovo refugees, participating in a compassionate mission project in Tanzania, Brazil, Kenya and Zambia, co-authoring medical guidelines for frostbite and hypothermia for the State of Alaska and the Wilderness Medical Society, and creating new international “sinking vehicle” Emergency Dispatch Protocols for 9-1-1 operators.