After months of hinting, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said in no uncertain terms Wednesday he will call a provincial election this year.The premier was once again asked about the possibility of an election ahead of the fixed date in late 2020.
After saying in the "fullness of time we'll have more discussion on that," Pallister didn't disagree when a reporter suggested he was leaning toward dropping the writ in 2019.
"Well, at some point this year for sure," Pallister said.
Manitoba Provincial Election 2019
Sat, 2019-05-25 20:19
#1
Manitoba Provincial Election 2019
Mon, 2019-06-03 20:52
#2
Former Interim Leader Flor Marcelino not running again:
Marcelino is the fourth veteran MLA from the NDP who has decided not to run in the next election. James Allum, Rob Altemeyer, and Andrew Swan previously announced their intention to leave.
There was a sign of division in the NDP ranks as Marcelino gave her farewell speech in the chamber.
Marcelino defended Mohinder Saran, who was kicked out of the NDP caucus in 2017 over an accusation he sexually harassed a subordinate.
Saran, who now sits as an Independent, denied the accusation. Marcelino told the legislature Saran was treated wrongly.
"I was deeply touched when my colleague was mistakenly accused of something he did not do," Marcelino said.
"I believe in due time my friend will be vindicated."
I did not agree with Marcelino being tagged as interim leader. I believe that she was put in that spot specifically so that the NDP Establishment could continue to call the shots behind the scenes while she was essentially a figurehead. In 2015, she supported Greg Selinger for NDP leader. In 2017, she flipped and supported Steve Ashton. I got a small bit of pleasure watching her turn on the NDP establishment in such a fashion after they specifically appointed her to do her bidding.
Sat, 2019-06-08 01:36
#3
With the latest figures for approval of Premiers, I want to sound the alarm right now that Pallister is in very good shape to be elected:
1) Look at the polling data. The PCs have never not been in first place this term. That is a solid foundation for the PCs right there. Additionally, there has been some movement between the NDP, Liberals, and Greens on the left, however the 40-ish percent of the voting public that can be counted on to support the PCs is pretty stable. That the NDP have always relied on trying to monopolize the left-wing vote without even asking if they could chip away at PC support or find cross-over appeal is problematic.
2) What's happening in Winnipeg. It's true that issues of drugs and crime are making a great deal of headlines. Unfortunately that isn't so much impacting the city as a whole, but is packing a very strong punch in areas of the city that have always been hurting. There are many voters in the south and west areas of Winnipeg who would rather install home security systems and video cameras (at least those who haven't fled to the surrounding communities) to protect themselves and their properties rather than pay taxes for the benefit of the city as a whole. Plus, they might not like the idea of losing hospital emergency rooms, but above all else they do not want a socialist government that will spend the province into a debt spiral, and on that latter point they will vote accordingly. It is true that the NDP is the top choice of Winnipeg voters, however this leads into my next point:
3) The NDP was blown out in rural areas last election, and it needs these rural areas because they cannot win back government solely on the backs of Winnipeg voters. It is also a completely different media environment. Whereas in Winnipeg, the media is focussing on the actions of the "Pallister government," in the rural areas the local MLAs get good press for attending events and for government funding announcements. Plus the media (at least what's left of small-town media) doesn't seriously challenge people in positions of authority, it's more like a coffee chit-chat. Historically you could always count on there being MLAs in rural areas to oppose whatever government in power at the time, so that was one way to challenge them. With all but 2 NDP MLAs in Winnipeg, there is basically no opposition to Pallister in the rural areas (aside from some passive resistance in Brandon). Plus, the NDP communication strategy is completely tone-deaf. All we hear from them is "Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Winnipeg" with a few mentions about issues in other parts of the province. If the rural seats the NDP held going into the 1999 election don't come back, the PCs will stay in government forever regardless of what Winnipeg voters think of them. Look what happened next door in Saskatchewan. That is the path we are headed down.
4) The PCs are the only ones ready at the moment. They are flush with cash, and have nominated candidates in almost every riding in the province, except central Winnipeg which they don't need anyways. The NDP still doesn't even have candidates in all the seats it lost, let alone a full slate. The Liberals are in even worse shape. The opposition is at a huge disadvantage right out of the gate.
5) The NDP, despite doing what it called a "listening tour" in the aftermath of 2016, didn't actually listen or learn from its mistakes. The union special interests in this province successfully lobbied to keep the delegated convention system (which is a long-standing sore point for northern and rural constituencies, please see point 3) and there is still no formal mechanism for the membership to call for a leadership review. Additionally, Wab Kinew was essentially annointed as the NDP Messiah, and the party establishment did everything it could to block a meaningful leadership competition. There are also old wounds in the party that haven't fully healed, for example the issue of Mohinder Saran or the NDP blocking Steve Ashton from running in Thompson after allowing Stan Struthers to sexually harass women for years. We still don't know how Kinew's past charges of domestic assault are going to impact the race, however there are people who still feel strongly about that.
That's not to say that Pallister's re-election is certain. Stranger things have happened. But if that is to happen, we must first acknowledge what the current political terrain looks like.
Wed, 2019-06-19 19:16
#4
Pallister has called the provincial election for September 10th.
After months of speculation regarding an early election, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 10. ...
The premier has decided to flout the fixed election date of Oct. 6, 2020, by calling an election a year earlier than he is mandated. He is expected to drop the writ at a later date. ...
The Tories were ushered into power in 2016, winning 40 out of 57 seats in the legislature, after 17 years of rule under the Manitoba New Democrats, who were relegated to 14 seats.
A recent poll suggests a tightening race between the parties — at least in Winnipeg. A Probe Research survey found the NDP in a statistical tie with the Tories in Manitoba's capital, but the Progressive Conservatives are well ahead provincewide, with the backing of 42 per cent of decided and leaning voters, whereas the NDP garnered 30 per cent. ...
In the months since the March poll, the Progressive Conservatives have faced heightened criticism over Winnipeg's health-care overhaul, including news last week that a 63-year-old woman died at St. Boniface hospital after waiting hours in an ER that turned people away. ...
The premier brushed off a suggestion Manitoba cannot juggle an election campaign during the summer, which political parties are generally averse to doing.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/progressive-conservatives-manito...
Mon, 2019-06-24 21:00
#5
And of course, the issue of Kinew's past is not going to go away.
Interesting thing is that there are no comments as of yet trashing Kinew. You would think on a public forum there would be. True, it's the CBC, and the Saskatchewan Party next door has been re-elected many times despite being regularly beat up in the CBC news comment section, but is that an indicator of public opinion and perception?
I'd love to see what the next polls have to say about party standing.
Mon, 2019-06-24 21:10
#6
laine lowe
I met an Elder from Opaskweyak Cree Nation the other evening, a very accomplished woman who has the Order of Manitoba. She is very disappointed with Wab Kinew and finds him arrogant. I don't think he will overcome the fact that he has little confidence from many First Nation people. Plus there are lots of racist people in Manitoba who will never support him (mind you, most of them probably hate the NDP).
Mon, 2019-06-24 21:43
#7
That's interesting, Laine. Can you provide any more insight?
It seemed to me that he was annointed by the party leadership to capture the growing First Nations vote in Manitoba for the NDP after Kevin Chief retired. Given the failures of the last NDP government on issues affecting First Nations, like child welfare and crime, I wonder how effective a strategy that will be.
I do agree with you on one thing. I fully expect the PCs to capitalize on racism in order to shore up the vote in their strongholds. Whether it is out in the open or dog-whistling, they will use whatever works. I've outlined upthread why I feel the NDP is failing in its communication regarding seats outside Winnipeg.
That's the problem with identity politics. Not only racial minorities less likely to vote, but they are also concentrated in parts of Winnipeg that the PCs don't really need in order to win anyways. That's part of the problem of the Democrat strategy in the US, along with the fact that the Democrats don't really do anything to address the issues their base tells them are important while in office. Unfortunately too many people in charge of the party have no clue what life is like in the real world and keep messing it up.
Let's take crime, for example. Suppose the NDP had a really strong program that actually addressed the root causes of crime. Wouldn't the headlines in the Free Press about declining homicides and lower police, court and jail costs also win over many swing voters in the suburban areas? I admit you're not going to win them all, but I think that would present a very strong argument.
Mon, 2019-07-01 02:52
#8
The latest Probe Research poll shows the PCs at 42%, the NDP at 26%, Liberals 16% which is their lowest level of support since the 2016 election, and Greens 14%, with the major change from the last poll done in March being the rise of Green support by 7% due to a 4% NDP drop and a 2% Liberal drop while the PCs stay the same.
In terms of nominated candidates for the 57 ridings Wikipedia is showing the Cons with 46, the NDP with 34, the Liberals with 9, and the Greens with none so far. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Manitoba_general_election)
The polling shows the PCs and NDP continue to be on equal footing within the boundaries of Winnipeg, with the Tories holding strong support in their rural base. ...
"The PCs were able to win over Winnipeg women from the (former premier Gary) Doer Democrats before, and I would want to look at how women are going in this election," Adams said.
However, this month’s polling suggests the NDP is retaining Winnipeg women’s support, with 37 per cent of decided female voters in the city opting for that party, compared with 25 per cent for the Tories.
Pallister recently announced the upcoming election while flanked by mostly female ministers. Meanwhile, his party has tried to keep attention on NDP Leader Wab Kinew’s domestic-assault charges from 2003 (the charges were stayed by the Crown in 2004). ...
Meanwhile, the provincial Greens are on the rise at 14 per cent support, doubling from a year ago. The Liberals appear to be losing voter interest, with 16 per cent marking their lowest number since the 2016 election. ...
He noted the Green party fell just 400 votes short of taking the Winnipeg riding of Wolseley in 2016. "There is a Green presence in Manitoba; they do run strong candidates here," MacKay said.
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/no-hard-feelings-on-early-manito...
Sat, 2019-07-13 01:31
#9
The NDP and Green party leaders will face each other in the Fort Rouge riding.
Manitoba Green Party Leader James Beddome has registered to run in the Fort Rouge constituency in Winnipeg, which is held by Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew.
Beddome, who has run in different seats in three previous provincial elections, said his decision to run in Fort Rouge was not influenced by the presence of the NDP leader. ...
All parties are getting candidates in place for the Sept. 10 election. The deadline for nominations is Aug. 29.
The governing Progressive Conservatives have 46 candidates registered with Elections Manitoba. The New Democrats have 38, the Liberals have 14 and the Greens have eight.
There are 57 constituencies in the province. The Greens have never run a full slate of candidates and have never won a legislature seat. They came close in the 2016 election with a strong second-place finish in the Wolseley seat in Winnipeg by Dave Nickarz.
https://globalnews.ca/news/5487436/manitoba-green-and-ndp-leaders-will-h...
Sun, 2019-07-28 00:05
#10
Pallister is proposing to end "death taxes", the same lingo the Republicans used to eliminate estate taxes when focus groups told them this was better phrasing to gain public support. This can be an very large amount for large estates.
Premier Brian Pallister says there will be no "death taxes" in Manitoba if his Progressive Conservatives are re-elected in the upcoming provincial election. Pallister announced Thursday he would eliminate probate fees and the provincial sales tax on wills — saving a typical family estate more than $2,600. ...
Pallister pointed to comments by current opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew in October 2017 about the federal Liberal's tax plan where Kinew mulled over "taxing people who inherit their wealth."
"We are putting an end to NDP death taxes," Pallister said.
Kinew responded an NDP government wouldn't increase probate fees.
He added the PCs are masking an austerity agenda. Kinew said there will be cuts to things people in Manitoba are really concerned about, including health care, to pay for all the PC promises.
"If he wanted to make real inroads and help people with the end-of-life journey than this government would come forward with a palliative care plan and they would invest in palliative medicine in Manitoba," he said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-death-taxes-promise-1....
Sun, 2019-07-28 00:19
#11
Today there are 49 Conservative, 43 NDP, 25 Liberal and 15 Green candidates selected.
Mon, 2019-08-12 21:00
#12
The latest Probe Research poll shows the PCs at 42%, the NDP at 26%, Liberals 16% which is their lowest level of support since the 2016 election, and Greens 14%, with the major change from the last poll done in March being the rise of Green support by 7% due to a 4% NDP drop and a 2% Liberal drop while the PCs stay the same.
The Greens, with one third of the support they currently have, nearly took Wolseley last time. Bearing in mind that the campaign still has yet to play itself out, I would say that the rise in support for the Greens province-wide, combined with the fact that the incumbent MLA is not running again while this is the second go for the Green candidate makes this a near-certain pick-up for the Greens.
Thu, 2019-08-08 00:44
#13
There are, as of today, Today there are 49 Conservative, 50 NDP, 25 Liberal and 17 Green candidates selected.
Thu, 2019-08-08 00:53
#14
Although the election campaign has not officially started, the campaign promises have.
Wab Kinew wants this year's Manitoba provincial election to focus on the damage he says Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservative government has inflicted on health care, and how an NDP government would fix it.
In making his pitch to voters ahead of the Sept. 10 election, Kinew positioned himself as the leader to stop the chaos he says the health-care system has endured during a consolidation that closed three of Winnipeg's six emergency rooms.
"A big part of what we want to do in this campaign is to form a government that can repair some of this damage, that can reopen emergency rooms and improve health care for people across the province," Kinew said. "It's also about modernizing health care and ensuring that health care is there for Manitobans for generations to come." ...
The NDP leader said his party would reopen the emergency departments at Seven Oaks and Concordia hospitals, but said too much time has passed to reverse the ER closure at Victoria. The emergency rooms at all three Winnipeg hospitals were converted to urgent care centres as part of the Pallister government's health care overhaul. ...
Kinew also renewed speculation on Wednesday that a re-elected PC government could revisit the idea of a health-care premium — an idea that the PC leader previously floated, but withdrew. At the time, Pallister said he wouldn't institute the new tax at any point in his first mandate. ...
"Even as he was being forced to back off on the way out the door, he said, 'Not in the first term.'" Kinew said. "Now he's running for a second term, so you know what that means."
Later in the day, Pallister said Manitobans flatly rejected higher premiums when his party asked in 2017, and so does he. "If you want higher taxes, you've got the NDP for that," he said. ...
Kinew pledged to release a "comprehensive and fully costed" election platform on Thursday. Without revealing much of his plan, Kinew said he would reach a balanced budget within a similar timeline to that promised by Brian Pallister, who pledged to balance the budget by 2024. ...
"I think Manitobans are going to be pleasantly surprised when they see the NDP platform this time around, with a heavy focus on affordability and ensuring that families can get by and have a little bit extra money at the end of the month."
The party is expecting to have its full slate of 57 candidates nominated by this weekend.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ndp-manitoba-campaign-launch-1.5...
Sat, 2019-08-17 11:53
#15
The uncommissioned poll, which surveyed 1,127 Manitobans between July 28 and Aug. 7, found 30 per cent of respondents said they would vote NDP and 31 per cent PC heading into the fall election.
Another 11 per cent said they intend to vote Liberal; six per cent claimed they'll go with the Green Party; and another six per cent chose not to say. Fifteen per cent remain undecided and one per cent said they would vote for another party altogether.
Sun, 2019-08-18 02:17
#16
The Manitoba PCs do have a history of blowing or badly underperforming in elections they should have been able to count on winning in a walk-1969, when the collapse of the Manitoba Liberal-Progressives should have guaranteed them an easy win but the NDP came from minor party status to form a minority government; 1981, when Sterling Lyon became the first premier in provincial history to lead his party to defeat after one term; 1988 when they started 30 points ahead in the polls and then ended up barely beating the Liberals-a party which had only one seat going into the election-and actually losing two seats from the previous election; the two campaigns MacFayden led them through where they had, IIRC, come-from-ahead defeats.
Perhaps they're shooting themselves in the foot again?
Sun, 2019-08-18 07:57
#17
I wd like to think this poll is accurate but have my doubts.
it is in sharp contrast to the most recent Probe poll which had the Cons ahead 42 to 26. I think Probe has had a good track record.
it has the Greens and Liberals significantly lower than expected
Nothing seems to have happened to occasion such a marked shift.
the Federal NDP seems to be tanking in Manitoba.
Converso is a polling organization no one has ever heard of.
Sun, 2019-08-18 15:01
#18
In virtually every election campaign in recent history, there's been at least one "rogue poll". Perhaps that's what we've got here.
Sun, 2019-08-18 17:45
#19
In virtually every election campaign in recent history, there's been at least one "rogue poll". Perhaps that's what we've got here.
Looks like it:
https://twitter.com/CBCManitoba/status/1162918377591103488
The creator of a poll suggesting Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats in a "dead heat" in popularity now says there is an issue with the data.
https://twitter.com/conversoinc/status/1162874422652522496
It has come to my attention that there is an issue w/ the weighting of the survey results we released yesterday re: Manitoba election. We are working diligently to address this issue. We'll provide an update within 48 hrs. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused. - Carl
Sun, 2019-08-18 18:17
#20
Curiouser and curiouser.
Mon, 2019-08-19 07:17
#21
Here is a tweet this morning from Mainstreet Research which unfortunately contradicts the Converso poll:
Looking at early #mbpoli numbers from @MainStResearch
It’s a sizeable lead for @pcmanitoba
@BrianPallister , @WabKinew both have negative scores on personal favourability
Details out later this week, stay tuned
Mon, 2019-08-19 20:01
#22
Pallister to spend money making Winnipeg safer:
Leader Brian Pallister said Monday his government would crack down on drug use by committing more money to tactical enforcement, better collaboration between police services and trying to prevent drug smuggling through road surveillance.
The PCs also would establish a criminal intelligence database within the Justice Ministry and hire more investigators with the public safety investigations unit to expel drug dealers from rental properties.
"When grandpa and grandma take their grandchildren out to a Jets game, they shouldn't be worried when they leave the game about getting to the parkade safely," Pallister said Monday morning from True North Square.
This here is the one issue the NDP need to use against the PCs. The PCs made an issue of the crime rate so often from the opposition benches, only to preside over a perceived rise in crime and less public safety over their term. We have had a large number of murders this year, even during a brutally cold winter which usually takes the murder rate down, and there is a great deal of talk about the meth crisis. Crime and public safety is something the PCs are supposed to be good at. The NDP needs to show that the opposite is actually the case.
Mon, 2019-08-19 22:21
#23
In virtually every election campaign in recent history, there's been at least one "rogue poll". Perhaps that's what we've got here.
Looks like it:
https://twitter.com/CBCManitoba/status/1162918377591103488
The creator of a poll suggesting Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats in a "dead heat" in popularity now says there is an issue with the data.
https://twitter.com/conversoinc/status/1162874422652522496
It has come to my attention that there is an issue w/ the weighting of the survey results we released yesterday re: Manitoba election. We are working diligently to address this issue. We'll provide an update within 48 hrs. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused. - Carl
"The discrepancy was caused by an over-weighting of responses from northern Manitoba," Converso managing director Carl Mavromichalis said in the statement, citing a third-party review of its work....
Converso now claims the PCs enjoy the support of 35 per cent of Manitoban voters, compared to 21 per cent for the NDP, 12 per cent for the Liberals, eight per cent for the Greens and one per cent for other parties — while undecided, non-responsive and unwilling voters accounted for 22 per cent of the response.
Thu, 2019-08-22 20:16
#24
Here is a tweet this morning from Mainstreet Research which unfortunately contradicts the Converso poll:Looking at early #mbpoli numbers from @MainStResearch
It’s a sizeable lead for @pcmanitoba
@BrianPallister , @WabKinew both have negative scores on personal favourability
Details out later this week, stay tuned
Among decided and leaning voters who responded to the poll, the PCs had 42.5 per cent support (down 2.3 percentage points since a similar poll was done in March), while the NDP had 34.7 per cent support (up 2.6 percentage points).
The poll responses put the Liberals at 11.9 per cent support (down 1.2 percentage points) and the Greens at 9.6 per cent (up 2.9 percentage points).
...
However, when it comes to having a favourable or unfavourable opinion of the party leaders, 46.2 per cent of those polled said they had an unfavourable view of Pallister.
...
Almost 38 per cent of those polled said they had an unfavourable opinion of NDP Leader Wab Kinew compared to 26 per cent for Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont and 19.4 per cent for Green Party Leader James Beddome.
Nearly the same number of respondents had favourable opinions of Kinew and Pallister. Among those polled, 31.6 per cent said they have a favourable opinion of Kinew, and 30.8 per cent had a favourable opinion of Pallister.
The majority of those surveyed were not sure or not familiar with Beddome (64.8 per cent) or Lamont (53.2 per cent).
It appears that both Pallister and Kinew are quite well known. People don't like Pallister and that's not going to change any time soon. The good news for the NDP is that Kinew's popularity rating is only -6 even with the criminal convictions and criminal charges being public knowledge. Beddome and Lamont have room to grow in their popularity, depending on how well they are able to get their names out.
I'll have a more detailed summary of promises of the party leaders later on. My question for all 3 opposition leaders is this: Let's take Pallister at his word and assume he wants to do all the things he's promising to do in this campaign. He had a year left in his mandate and one of the largest majorities in Manitoba history. He could have bundled all these things into a Throne Speech and worked on them right now and we'd be making actual progress on them. So why did he instead choose to pull the plug and go for an election a year early?
Thu, 2019-08-22 22:08
#25
laine lowe
I answered Maintreet's telephone poll twice. I hope that doesn't mean that my data was counted twice. Both times were the exact same questions and there was no option at the start to say you had already been polled. I worry about pollster numbers in general but I am having my doubts about Mainstreet Research having a great methodology in place for doing this work.
Thu, 2019-08-22 22:36
#26
In any case, I will take an 8 point gap at this stage. Can the NDP overcome that in the next few weeks?
Probe Research is also going to put out at least one poll on its own. It will be interesting to see what those numbers indicate.
Fri, 2019-08-23 02:14
#27
Meanwhile, due to reductions in the number of health care bargaining units resulting from government legislation, different unions have been vying to represent health care workers. Here are some results:
Four unions have been selected to represent health-care workers in various regions across the province: Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) and Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP)....
CUPE won eight units, totalling 18,483 eligible voters; MGEU won five, totalling 7,076; MNU won three, totalling 10,061; and MAHCP won two, totalling 5,896.
Six unions will not be representing any health workers in the sector: Unifor, the Operating Engineers of Manitoba Local 987, the local United Food and Commercial Workers union, the Winnipeg Association of Public Service Officers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
...
Voting results
- Both sections of the Prairie Mountain Health Region have chosen MGEU to represent them.
- Members of the Interlake-Eastern Health Region have selected MGEU across all three sections.
- Northern Health Region members voted overwhelmingly in support of CUPE in both sections.
- The Southern Health Region was split on CUPE in two sections, while nurses voted for the MNU.
- Winnipeg-Churchill voted for CUPE to represent staff in community support and facility support. The MNU will represent nurses, and MAHCP will speak on behalf of professional, technical and paramedical workers.
- For the Shared Health Region, CUPE will represent two sections. Nurses voted for MNU, and MAHCP will represent professional, technical and paramedical workers.
The overall voter participation rate was slightly more than 62 per cent, with a total of 25,768 votes cast out of 41,516 voters across lists.
Fri, 2019-08-23 06:58
#28
I agreee Aristotle that this poll is broadly encouraging.
the Cons won the last election by 53% to 26% for the NDP. The gap has now been closed by almost 20%
Pallister is significantly more unpopular than Kinew.
The Liberals are going nowhere and the Greens remain in single digits.
The election may become further polarized to the NDP’s benefit.
Fri, 2019-08-23 10:17
#29
No one seriously expects the NDP to actually win this election in Manitoba. This is a recovery election - much like how the BC NDP stormed back in 2005 to 34 seats after having been reduced to just 2 in 2001 or for that matter like the way the Manitoba NDP was reduced to 12 seats and third place status in 1988 and then two years later in 1990 they bounced back to 20 seats and relegated the Liberals back to third place.
If the NDP can reduce the PCs 27 point lead from 2016 to something like an 8-10 points lead (or maybe even better) and can take the lead in Winnipeg, then the NDP could very easily bounce back from 14 to seats to 20 or more seats and they could also more or less kill off the Manitoba Liberals and smother any chance of the Greens getting on the map. that could set them up nicely for 2023.
Sat, 2019-08-24 01:37
#30
Claims by Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister that he grew up poorer than his NDP rival are being called "offensive" by an Indigenous leader, and will only draw attention to Pallister's frequent jaunts to Costa Rica, says a political scientist.
Pallister was referring to a recent study that found 56 per cent of Manitoba families have less than $200 a month to spend after bills are paid.
"That's where I come from," Pallister said. But NDP Leader Wab Kinew was better off, he said.
"Mr. Kinew does not come from a household like that. Mr. Kinew's narrative is that he was hard done by and he's on a road to recovery. The house he grew up in was triple the size the one I was raised in and mine didn't have any indoor plumbing.
"We might have had spoons in our house but they were not silver. Mr. Kinew didn't go to a public school, he went to a private school. Mr. Kinew was handed more benefits than any premier in the last 60 years in this province. That's the truth."
...
"I believe his comments are offensive on the basis that a premier should have a better understanding of the historical discrimination that we as Indigenous people have endured for generations," said consultant Derek Nepinak, who is the former grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
"When we hear the word 'benefits,' what it's tied to is what I believe to be a false narrative about Indigenous people receiving benefits from being identified as status Indians or government programs and services.
"It ties into a language that I think is a discourse to me that is somewhat racially motivated. It's inaccurate."
Sat, 2019-08-24 02:01
#31
Misfit
Oh my! Something like this ought to be a career ending statement. I hope the people of Manitoba take notice of this and do something about it. That is a disgrace and totally unacceptable.
Sat, 2019-08-24 12:29
#32
No one seriously expects the NDP to actually win this election in Manitoba. This is a recovery election - much like how the BC NDP stormed back in 2005 to 34 seats after having been reduced to just 2 in 2001 or for that matter like the way the Manitoba NDP was reduced to 12 seats and third place status in 1988 and then two years later in 1990 they bounced back to 20 seats and relegated the Liberals back to third place.If the NDP can reduce the PCs 27 point lead from 2016 to something like an 8-10 points lead (or maybe even better) and can take the lead in Winnipeg, then the NDP could very easily bounce back from 14 to seats to 20 or more seats and they could also more or less kill off the Manitoba Liberals and smother any chance of the Greens getting on the map. that could set them up nicely for 2023.
It's so reassuring to hear that the next four years may mean privatization of Hydro, more meth, crime and murders in Winnipeg, economic struggles overall, and underfunding of child care before the NDP could take over.
Sat, 2019-08-24 12:31
#33
Oh my! Something like this ought to be a career ending statement. I hope the people of Manitoba take notice of this and do something about it. That is a disgrace and totally unacceptable.
You and I both live on the Prairies and are quite familiar with the attitudes towards First Nations people. I don't know that this will hurt Pallister as much as it should, especially outside Winnipeg.
Sat, 2019-08-24 14:37
#34
No one seriously expects the NDP to actually win this election in Manitoba. This is a recovery election - much like how the BC NDP stormed back in 2005 to 34 seats after having been reduced to just 2 in 2001 or for that matter like the way the Manitoba NDP was reduced to 12 seats and third place status in 1988 and then two years later in 1990 they bounced back to 20 seats and relegated the Liberals back to third place.If the NDP can reduce the PCs 27 point lead from 2016 to something like an 8-10 points lead (or maybe even better) and can take the lead in Winnipeg, then the NDP could very easily bounce back from 14 to seats to 20 or more seats and they could also more or less kill off the Manitoba Liberals and smother any chance of the Greens getting on the map. that could set them up nicely for 2023.
It's so reassuring to hear that the next four years may mean privatization of Hydro, more meth, crime and murders in Winnipeg, economic struggles overall, and underfunding of child care before the NDP could take over.
And then do what Doer did the last time they were in opposition and agree to accept all the cuts as permanent-that's what voting for the last PC budget meant-because it's supposed to be enough to simply have something CALLED an NDP government-as if there's a difference between PC austerity and NDP austerity, and as if there's no alternative to perpetual austerity.
That approach was what made the last MNDP government meaningless. If Kinew were to get in again by using the same strategy, it would make it meaningless to claim that the government agreeing to all that austerity bullshit again was MNDP. And it would make it the last MNDP government ever elected, in all liklihood.
Sat, 2019-08-24 15:00
#35
I take no pleasure in saying that Pallister will still be premier after this election but the fact is it takes more than one election to recover from the sort of annihilation the Manitoba NDP suffered last time thanks to Greg Selinger’s narcissistic suicide wish. I’d like to see Kinew lead the NDP to a gain of 6-8 seats and also get rid of all that toxic deadwood from the caucus and bring in more young diverse faces. Maybe a miracle could happen and Kinew could win but I’m trying to manage expectations
Sat, 2019-08-24 21:12
#36
laine lowe
I don't get this animus: "thanks to Greg Selinger’s narcissistic suicide wish". In fact, I really don't get why there was so much public infighting when Sellinger was elected after Doer. It's a piss off and it ushered in a Pallister victory.
Sat, 2019-08-24 21:28
#37
And then do what Doer did the last time they were in opposition and agree to accept all the cuts as permanent-that's what voting for the last PC budget meant-because it's supposed to be enough to simply have something CALLED an NDP government-as if there's a difference between PC austerity and NDP austerity, and as if there's no alternative to perpetual austerity.
The last budget that Gary Filmon brought in was more centrist compared to how he had governed, so the fact that the NDP supported it didn't bother me. The plan was to get the money out there early and ride the momentum of the 1999 Pan Am Games to victory. Unfortunately for Filmon, the NDP was able to point out that this generosity coming on the eve of an election was a gimmick based on previous cuts. It's true that the NDP didn't attempt to renationalize MTS, raise taxes on the rich, let poverty go unchecked, and ignored serious red flags in the child welfare system. They did restore funding to health care, froze tutions for a while, and increased wages and introduced pensions for child care workers.
Sat, 2019-08-24 21:47
#38
I don't get this animus: "thanks to Greg Selinger’s narcissistic suicide wish". In fact, I really don't get why there was so much public infighting when Sellinger was elected after Doer. It's a piss off and it ushered in a Pallister victory.
I'll explain where I'm coming from on this. Under Doer's watch, poverty remained stubbornly high in Manitoba, and it was Greg Selinger who signed off on those budgets. It's ture that poverty began to decline somewhat after Selinger became Premier, but the damage had been done by then. Too many people (especially young voters) were left in poverty by the very party that was supposed to have their backs. Then, after promising that he wouldn't raise the PST in the 2011 campaign, went ahead and raised the PST a few years later. How do you think anyone who wouldn't walk off a cliff on the orders of the political party they support would feel about that? He never listened to anyone or allowed any contradictory opinion. It was also quite obvious that when there were challenges to his leadership that the party brass moved to close down dissent, but only relented when they realized that they would not be able to contain the revolt. Then they arranged for a very short campaign (part of it taking place over the Christmas break) in order to leave challengers with little time to get organized. It's true that the actions of the Gang of 5 were horrible. At the time I was very vocal in my support of Steve Ashton and also critical of Theresa Oswald. The fact is that there are no mechanisms to force a recalcitrant leader from his or her post in the Manitoba NDP, so this was bound to happen. Any leader concerned about the state of the organization rather than his own personal ego would have read the tea leaves and stepped aside long before it ever came to that. It's true that this played a role in Pallister's election. The truth is that people were so tired of the NDP that Pallister was likely to be elected anyways. Selinger's intransigence provoked visceral hatred of the NDP, which is much harder to recover from than simply being tired. Finally, there was his "sorry-not-sorry" apology in response to former NDP MLA Stan Struthers repeated sexual harassment of women.
If it was up to me, Selinger would never be allowed to have anything to do with the Manitoba NDP ever again. Can we just agree to never say his name again and move on?
Sat, 2019-08-24 21:46
#39
This little tid-bit is interesting:
The Progressive Conservatives, if re-elected as Manitoba's government, promised on Saturday to provide additional supports for victims of domestic and sexual abuse.
"Too many women are abused at the hands of their partners. Too many women are killed at the hands of their partners," said Riel PC candidate Rochelle Squires, introducing herself as "a woman, a mother and a survivor of sexual violence."
"Our PC team is the only party that is committed to help end cycles of violence by supporting women as they leave abusive relationships."
She said the party would implement Clare's Law in Manitoba, which would allow women to access information about
their partner's past history of domestic violence.
Seems to me they are looking to hit Kinew on a key weakness, that being his charge of domestic assault. Kind of a way to put forth a policy they say will address the issue overall while subtly reminding voters about this. No mention of Kinew or outright character assassination required. If I am right, this is a very shrewed move on their part and may very well pay off.
Sat, 2019-08-24 22:13
#40
Misfit
Problem is, Kinew’s history aside, the NDP are way further ahead of violence issues against women than the PC”s ever will be.
i would never trust a Conservstive to look after the interests of women when it comes to safety.
And yes, they are going all out against Kinew.
Sun, 2019-08-25 00:26
#41
Thu, 2019-08-29 00:14
#42
Fri, 2019-08-30 22:39
#43
Probe Research is also going to put out at least one poll on its own. It will be interesting to see what those numbers indicate.
Though two parties are neck and neck in Manitoba’s capital, these numbers don’t reflect how the parties are faring across the entire province. The numbers show overall 41 per cent of decided or leaning Manitobans plan to cast their ballot for PC candidates, 29 per cent for the NDP, 18 per cent for the Liberals and 10 per cent for the Greens. Twelve per cent of Manitoba voters remain undecided.
The survey found the Tories are benefitting from lapsed NDP voters – those who voted for NDP in the 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections, but not in 2016. Of these lapsed voters - 225 respondents - only 27 per cent plan to vote NDP this year, with the largest share of people (35 per cent) supporting the PCs in the 2019 election.
Sat, 2019-08-31 09:04
#44
Now Pallister's apparently too scared to debate in front of a friendly crowd:
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce has announced it will scrap a party leaders' debate because the business organization didn't know if Tory Leader Brian Pallister would be there.
The status of the pre-election debate — a long-standing tradition in Manitoba politics and scheduled this year for Sept. 6 — was in limbo for days because the Progressive Conservatives had not accepted an invitation.
The Tories said on Friday that Pallister was unable to participate due to a "full campaign schedule," which is slated to take the party's leader to several constituencies in rural and northern Manitoba next week.
The cancellation means the only scheduled leadership forum of the campaign occurred on Wednesday, when the leaders duked it out in a 50-minute televised debate.
A couple hours down the road, the Brandon Chamber of Commerce also wanted to host a debate but couldn't after Pallister backed out of that one too. Makes me wonder why he doesn't want to speak to an audience in Tory-friendly Brandon.
Sun, 2019-09-01 21:48
#45
laine lowe
I hope between Pallister's less than stellar debate performance and his bailing out on traditional debates sponsered by the Winnipeg and Brandon Chambers of Commerce bite him hard. I think Wab has run a very strong campaign and I think his biggest obstacle is that there are a great deal of many racists in the province who will never support an Indigenous person as their premier.
Mon, 2019-09-02 18:17
#46
Kinew, Lamont weigh in on sick notes, minimum wage:
[quote]
Manitoba New Democrats and Liberals were promising to make the lives of workers better Monday while using Labour Day as a backdrop.
Both are committing to raising Manitoba's minimum wage to $15 an hour from the current $11.35 rate and both parties said they would introduce a ban on employers asking for sick notes for an illness that lasts 72 hours or less.
...
Kinew said if elected premier next week he would raise the minimum wage by a dollar a year until it hit $15. From there he said he would index it to the inflation rate. He also said he would introduce a ban that would prevent employers from requiring sick notes from staffers who are ill and away from work for 72 hours or less.
...
Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said he would match that promise and touted his party's promise to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in just two years if elected.[/qoute]
Fri, 2019-09-06 21:15
#47
Main street poll Sept. 4
PC 43.3
NDP 34.2
LIB 15.1
GREEN 6.2
Fri, 2019-09-06 23:25
#48
Main street poll Sept. 4 PC 43.3 NDP 34.2 LIB 15.1 GREEN 6.2
Rough guess, based on the numbers and the geographic distribution:
This poll has the NDP as the clear preference of Winnipeg voters. East Winnipeg and seats in the north fall from the PCs to the NDP. Not easy to get a read on the Liberal side of things, but they should hold all 3 of their current Winnipeg seats. Will they win more? They also held Keewatinook going into the campaing. No idea. The isolation and generally low voter turn-out will depend on whichever local campaign is better organized. True toss-up. Thompson should fall back into the NDP fold based on redistrubution and the Pallister government's lack of response to losing the rail line. Brandon-East should return to the NDP based on redistrubution, however more sprawling houses have gone up in the south. There is also a strong campagin by a local addictions advocate running for the Liberals. (Incidentally, the race between Len Isliefson of the PCs and Lonnie Patterson of the NDP is between 2 former city councillors who represented wards in that area. Patterson and the Liberal candidate, Lonnie Patterson, faced off in the same ward in 2014.) That could keep the riding PC. The Greens are competitive in Wolseley. On the old boundaries, Wolsely flips to the Greens, as former NDP MLA Rob Altemeyer is not running. It expanded to take on more NDP polls, so still a toss-up, but the Greens are putting everything they have into being elected here.
Mon, 2019-09-09 07:19
#49
Good summary of the campaign:
https://tcnorris.blogspot.com/
what do our Manitoba correspondents expect?
Mon, 2019-09-09 20:26
#50
Good summary of the campaign:https://tcnorris.blogspot.com/
what do our Manitoba correspondents expect?
Norris claimed that there was a 30 point gap between the PCs and the NDP in the rural areas. I don't know how big that gap was in previous elections. He is correct that the PCs waste a great many votes (particularly in Morden, Winkler, Seinbach, and a few other surrounding southern constituencies). If his analysis is correct, Thompson and Brandon East return to the NDP, and even more seats outisde Winnipeg are in play. The one thing he has not mentioned is the Green Party. They came a close second in Wolseley. The same candidate (David Nickarz) is trying very hard to win this now that the incumbent MLA, Rob Altemeyer, has not run again. The Greens have more enthusiasm in this area than the NDP. Geography is another question. There is a concentration of Green signs in the small area of Wolseley proper south of Portage. There aren't many signs elsewhere in the riding, and the Green signs drop off noticeably the further north you go. Making this riding even more difficult to call is that it has taken on a large chunk of the former Minto riding, which is also NDP. On the old boundaries, this would have been a surefire call for the Greens. The boundary change complicates things. On raw numbers, you can call this one for the NDP. If the turnout is uneven and the Greens manage to pull their vote, they can win.
Tue, 2019-09-10 06:03
#51
Forum Research poll out this morning has wide Conservative lead ( 43-29-17-10) but surprising seat projection giving Cons a one seat majority. (29-22-5-1)