NDP sails to majority government

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This article was published 04/10/2023 (773 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s New Democrats are projected to return to power for the first time since 2016, with party leader Wab Kinew set to become the first First Nations premier in Canadian history.

The NDP, which focused mostly on health-care reform, was propelled by victories in key battlegrounds in suburban Winnipeg.

Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson announced Tuesday night she will step down as leader of the party after conceding the election and congratulating Kinew on his historic win.

The incumbent Progressive Conservatives will form the official Opposition, after winning majorities in the 2016 and 2019 elections.

Several Tory ministers lost their seats to NDP candidates, including Southdale’s Audrey Gordon, who was health minister, and Riel incumbent Rochelle Squires.

The Liberals were left with a single seat, in Tyndall Park, where incumbent Cindy Lamoureux was re-elected.

Dougald Lamont, who lost his seat in St. Boniface, announced he was stepping down as the party’s leader, and Jon Gerrard, who held the River Heights seat since 1999, also lost. Both were beaten by NDP candidates.

At the PC campaign gathering, a hush fell over the room when Lamont appeared on the giant TV screen and conceded. Tories listened to his heartfelt speech about fighting the good fight and staying true to his party’s principles. At the end of the outgoing St. Boniface MLA’s concession speech, a smattering of the PC faithful politely applauded.

Some races were still close amid early results, and some constituencies still had not reported any results.

A party must win at least 29 of 57 electoral divisions to secure a majority.

More than 200 New Democratic Party supporters and candidates were already gathered in the Crystal Ballroom at the Fort Garry Hotel to watch the results trickle in.

The energy in the crowded room was high with cheers going up every time an NDP candidate’s face flashed across the screen to display an early lead in incumbent seats. Union Station candidate Uzoma Asagwara and St. James candidate Adrien Sala emceed the evening.

The PCs, led by Stefanson, had 35 seats at dissolution of the legislature. The NDP had 18 and the Liberals three. One seat was vacant.

The incumbent Progressive Conservatives were seeking a third consecutive term, after winning majorities under former premier Brian Pallister in 2016 and 2019.

Cheers erupted at the otherwise subdued Progressive Conservative gathering at the former Celebrations Dinner Theatre earlier, when candidates in Tory strongholds of Portage la Prairie, Turtle Mountain and Steinbach were declared winners.

Jeff Bereza was on track to win the seat vacated by the PCs’ Ian Wishart, who didn’t seek re-election in Portage, and Doyle Piwniuk, who had the cabinet post of infrastructure and transportation minister was declared the winner in Turtle Mountain. Steinbach incumbent Kelvin Goertzen, who was Tory justice minister when the election was called, easily hung onto his seat for the sixth consecutive election.

Polls were open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., following a four-week campaign which focused largely on issues such as health care, the cost of living crisis, crime and job creation.

Voting day got off to a turbulent start. Severe thunderstorms swept across much of southern Manitoba, knocking out power to some polling stations. Manual balloting was used until electricity was restored at those locations.

Manitoba is using electronic vote-counting machines for the first time. A record 200,790 voters cast advance ballots Sept. 23-30.

Forced to defend their record on health care, the PCs sought to win over voters with proposed tax cuts, anti-crime programs and a pre-election commitment to hire more doctors and nurses.

The Tories promoted their earlier decision not to support a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of at least two Indigenous women, who city police believe were slain by an alleged serial killer.

The NDP said it will support a search of the privately owned Prairie Green Landfill, if elected, although it has not set a specific financial contribution.

Lamont said his party would split the cost with the federal government.

The NDP campaign largely focused on pledges to “fix” the health-care system. Kinew promised to hire more staff and reopen three Winnipeg emergency rooms.

Kinew also vowed not to raise the PST, while pledging to freeze Manitoba Hydro rates for one year and temporarily cut the provincial gas tax.

The Liberals also pledged to recruit and retain doctors and nurses, provide tax relief and cover mental-health services under medicare.

Stefanson became Manitoba’s first woman to serve as premier when she narrowly won a PC party leadership contest in 2021, following Pallister’s resignation. This is her first election as party leader.

A total of 189 candidates were nominated for Manitoba’s 43rd general election, down from 235 in 2019.

» Winnipeg Free Press