A lot of mayors in Canada have jobs outside of politics, but there's only one who calls himself "The Skunk Whisperer."

When there's a problem with Pepe Le Pew in Manitoba's Interlake area, people call Gimli Mayor Randy Woroniuk.

Before getting into the fetid field of skunk trapping, Woroniuk was a natural resources officer for more than three decades.

"It's interesting that when I was in uniform for 32 years people were never all that happy to see me but as the skunk whisperer they love me. As soon as I show up it is instant love," he said with a laugh.

Woroniuk and his son picked up the traps from a retired Catholic priest in Winnipeg.

"When [my son] left home I became the heir apparent and now I'm the skunk whisperer," he said.

While being a mayor can sometimes be a messy business, it's in the other job that Woroniuk heads to work with the risk of really foul encounters. However, he says he's mostly figured out the skunk-wrangling style by mixing peanut butter and marshmallows for bait.

"I put the mix in the [trap] and the skunk walks in and closes. As long as I don't rush when I move the trap — it's like carrying a live bomb — I put it in the truck and I don't get sprayed," he said.

"Sometimes they are ornery and I do get sprayed."

If that's the case, Woroniuk has two showers using a special soap. While it might pass his own smell test, it doesn't pass his wife's or the community's.

"My wife has a problem with that. I think it's gone but she doesn't think it's gone," he said.

"When I walk into stores and there's a lineup, for some reason, I get to go to the front of the line," he added with a laugh.

The Interlake region relies on Gimli's mighty skunk whisperer to tackle the stinky mammals, but Woroniuk says the putrid pastime also taught him some lessons about politics.

"You have to talk to people. Calm them down," he said.

When asked how other lessons from skunk-whispering applies to his role as mayor, Woroniuk responded with a hearty laugh.

"I'd rather not say."