Duane Nicol was born and raised in the community of Selkirk. Duane attended the Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School where he graduated with a Science Major. During high school Duane got his first job at the local McDonald’s restaurant as a regular crew member but within 10 months Duane was promoted to a management position at the age of 16.

Duane entered the University of Manitoba’s Engineering program in the fall of 1998. After one year Duane made the decision to devote his life to public service so he transferred to the Department of Arts and entered the Political Studies program. Paying for his own education, Duane frequently worked two jobs while maintaining a heavy course load. Duane earned his Honours Degree in Political Studies in the spring of 2003.

While in university Duane was extremely active both on and off campus. On campus Duane served two terms as an elected representative on the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU). During his first term he served as chairperson of that organization. Duane was also a regular panelist on the “Political Panel” radio talk show on 101.1 UMFM.

Off campus Duane became involved with local community groups such as the Selkirk and District Handi-Bus and the Selkirk and District Chamber of Commerce.

In 2001 the Minister of Health appointed Duane to the Interlake Regional Health Authority Board of Directors. Duane served as the chair of the Planning Committee and the Audit Committee for the IRHA and sat on the executive committee. The planning committee has been the driving force behind the IRHA’s efforts to improve accountability to citizens and provide mechanism for public input on health care delivery in the region. The IRHA worked closely with the Auditor General’s office in making these improvements and through its efforts initiated a Manitoba Health review of health care accountability for all Regional Health Authorities.

In 2002 Duane was elected to Selkirk City Council, the youngest person ever to be elected to that office. He has set new levels of local government accessibility and accountability by advertising contact information, establishing a web site and maintaining a current checklist of campaign commitments. In October 2003 Duane was invited by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada to participate in the National Forum on Youth Voting in Calgary as a result of an article he wrote for the Winnipeg Free Press on youth participation in politics.

Duane was re-elected to Selkirk City Council in 2006 and again in 2010. Duane led the charge to develop a public transit service in the City of Selkirk. That vision was realized in May of 2011 when Selkirk Transit began operations.

During his time on council, Duane was the leading voice on sustainable development and responsible urban development. He led the redevelopment of Selkirk’s development fee structure which encourages more sustainable land use and the efficient use of the city’s infrastructure. In 2012 this new fee structure was nominated for a Manitoba Land Use planning award.

Duane wrote the “Capturing our Shared Heritage” white paper wish established a long-term vision for creating a municipal museum for the City of Selkirk. Resulting from that paper, Selkirk Council created the Selkirk Heritage Endowment Fund. Managed by the Selkirk & District Community Foundation, this fund will provide a stable source of funding for a future municipal museum once it is large enough.

Duane has served on a number of committees and boards both as part of his role on council, but also out of personal interest. Some of those include:

Selkirk Public Transit Committee (chair)
Selkirk Water Use Taskforce (chair)
Selkirk Audit Review Committee (chair)
Selkirk Accommodation Expansion Committee
Selkirk Emergency Control Committee
Selkirk Canada Day Committee (chair)
Association of Rural Municipalities of the Capital Region (chair)
Red River Basin Commission – North Chapter (chair)
East Interlake Conservation District
Putting People First Coalition
Selkirk Development Fee Taskforce (chair)
Canadian Mental Health Association – Interlake (President)
Canada Green Building Council – MB Chapter (Treasurer)
Selkirk Heritage Committee
Manitoba Association of Regional Recyclers

In May of 2014 Duane resigned his seat on council and accepted the job of Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Selkirk. Prior to this Duane was the Manager of Marketing & Communication at Assiniboine Credit Union. Previous to this position Duane was the credit union’s Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility. Duane’s work has included oversight of the credit union’s sponsorship and grants programs, managing the credit unions environmental programs and initiatives as well as their poverty reduction and financial inclusion programming. Assiniboine Credit Union is widely recognized as a leading business voice on issues of social justice and environmental sustainability.

In 2010, Duane was the winner of the “Be the Voice” essay contest for the Credit Union Central of Canada’s (CUCC) National Young Leader Committee. In 2011 he was recognized by the CUCC as a National Young Leader Award winner, and was invited to sit as a National Young Leader Committee member.

Duane was a founding member of the Credit Union Young Leaders of Manitoba Committee, and served as the vice-chair of the Credit Union Manager’s Association of Manitoba.

In 2012 Duane was invited by the United Nations to participate in the closing ceremonies of the International Year of Credit Unions at the UN headquarters in New York City. He currently serves on the Co-operative Promotions Board of Manitoba and was a member of the visioning committee that established the Province of Manitoba’s Co-operative  Community Development Strategy.

Duane is a third generation citizen of Selkirk and lives with his wife Erin on Queen Avenue.