Robert Sopuck

Suddenly, but peacefully, Robert Sopuck passed away October 23 at his home near Lake Audy, Manitoba. He is survived by his loving spouse of 36 years, Caroline, two children, Tony (Lainee) and Marsha (Graham) and three grandchildren, Eden, Senon and Esmee. He is also survived by his sister, Joyce (Ron) and brother, Tim (Linda), and his nieces and nephews, Erin (Jeff), Alexandra (Jeret), Julie, Kate (James) and Mark. He also cherished his niece, Christine, Caroline’s New Brunswick family and his goddaughter, Kristin Hendrickson. Born in 1951, Robert was the first child of Joseph and Ida Sopuck, Eastern European immigrants who provided a loving, enriching upbringing in Winnipeg’s West End. From these roots, he attained an Honours Science degree at the University of Manitoba and a Master of Science degree in fisheries science at the Cornell University, State of New York. The family spend summers at their cottage in the Whiteshell, where outdoors pursuits, including fishing, hunting, foraging and camping, led Robert to a career path in land, water and wildlife conservation. He worked as a fisheries biologist with the federal and provincial governments before he launched a major life-shift in the 1970s: purchasing farm property in the Lake Audy area just south of Riding Mountain National Park, and building a log house that became home base for the remainder of his varied life. This city-raised guy found interesting ways to earn a rural living, often in partnership with his neighbor, Donald McDonald: farming, waterfowl guiding, farm vacation host, and environmental consultant. A growing interest in conservation policy ultimately took him to Winnipeg and the position of Director of the Sustainable Development Coordination Unit in the Filmon conservative government. His behind-the-scenes work was critical to the development of new provincial conservation legislation and institutions. After government, he worked as Director of Environmental Affairs at the Pine Falls Paper Plant and, later, as a policy analyst at the Delta Waterfowl Foundation. He received national and international awards for his contributions to wildlife and habitat conservation. In 2010 he won a by-election in the Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette riding as the Progressive Conservative candidate. He was re-elected twice more before retiring from federal politics in 2019. Representing one of Canada’s largest rural ridings was complicated, time-consuming and, ultimately, rewarding. Critical to Robert’s political career was the unflagging support and wise counsel of the greatest love of his life, whom he fondly called, “the inestimable Caroline.â€