Rod Bruinooge

Rod Bruinooge is a Canadian filmmaker and politician. In 2004, he was a federal candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada and also released a documentary film entitled Stoners, documenting the history of an ongoing internet game/mystery known as The Stone (which he himself created).

Bruinooge was born in Thompson, Manitoba, and is of mixed Métis and Dutch heritage. He was educated at the University of Manitoba, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He is actively involved in the technology sector, and is a director of the River View Health Centre and the Manitoba Children's Museum. Bruinooge has also participated as an organizer in the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film and Video Festival, and the North American Indigenous Games.

In 2002, Bruinooge ran for the Progressive Conservative nomination in the provincial riding of Riel, but was defeated by Shirley Render.

In the Canadian federal election of 2004, Bruinooge (who was 31 years old at the time) ran as a Conservative in the riding of Winnipeg South (held by Liberal cabinet minister Reg Alcock). Although the seat was not widely regarded as winnable for the Conservatives, Bruinooge ran a credible campaign and received considerable press coverage in the city for his efforts (he was also regarded by many as being on the moderate wing of his party, which probably benefitted his campaign in an urban riding). One of his more creative advertisements during the campaign was a self-directed, fifteen-second promotional film entitled Big Tobacco, which likened Paul Martin's efforts at government renewal to misleading tobacco advertising. The spot ran as a preview for Shrek 2 in some Winnipeg theatres.

On election day, Bruinooge received 12770 votes (34% of those cast in the riding), against 19270 for Alcock.

It may be added that Bruinooge was one of only three aboriginal candidates to run for the Conservative Party in the 2004 election. The party has sometimes been depicted as anti-aboriginal because of its opposition to "distinct society" claims; at one stage in the campaign, Bruinooge and Conservative leader Stephen Harper were the targets of a protest by Manitoba Métis Federation leader David Chartrand and other aboriginal activists in Manitoba.

Bruinooge ran unsuccessfully for the Conservative Party nomination in Winnipeg South for the likely election in 2005.

In September 2004, Bruinooge and co-director Scott Jaworski released The Stone. The film chronicles the activities of a secretive internet community, the members of whom are active players of the game. The game/mystery itself is based on hidden messages which are rumoured to exist in the cover art of Pink Floyd's The Division Bell album (released in 1994), as well as in promotional images released by the band during the same time period. (The mystery is known to many in the Pink Floyd fanbase as the publius enigma, although it should be noted that the band have always denied the existence of such hidden messages.)

The film was shot in Winnipeg, New York and Stonehenge, and features the entirety of the "Division Bell" album in its soundtrack (with the band's permission).