Kinew signs all over Spruce Woods

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This article was published 07/08/2025 (231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Spruce Woods Liberal candidate Stephen Reid says NDP Premier Wab Kinew shouldn’t be the face of the NDP campaign in the byelection, as Kinew signs outnumber those of NDP candidate Ray Berthelette.

The Sun counted 16 lawn signs featuring Kinew while driving around the riding on Wednesday and Thursday, compared to just four featuring Berthelette.

“Who am I running against here?” Reid said in an interview with the Sun on Thursday. “It’s not a one-man show. It’s not the Wab Kinew show. We’re Spruce Woods, and we need a voice of our own.”

Progressive Conservative candidate Colleen Robbins said she has heard from residents around the riding, who are confused about why Berthelette isn’t the one featured on the NDP’s bright orange lawn signs.

“Does (Kinew) not trust his own candidate to campaign on his own?” Robbins asked. “He thinks that he needs to put his face on it.”

Robbins said this shows that the NDP is riding on Kinew’s popularity, and not on Berthelette as a candidate.

“That is showing to me that (Kinew) thinks because he’s riding high, that people are going to vote because of him, not because of Ray. And I would find that insulting if my leader did that.”

Berthelette on Wednesday said the NDP is campaigning as a team.

“It’s Team Wab. That’s the language we’re using for the campaign,” Berthelette said. “We are a team, and we work well together, and we feel it’s worth our while to have his team representation.”

Kinew wasn’t available for an interview on Thursday, but a government spokesperson sent a message about why Kinew is being featured more than Berthelette.

“We are proud to showcase our leader and our team. By putting up these signs, we’re asking the good people of Spruce Woods to send Ray to the legislature to advocate for them at the government table,” said a party spokesperson.

Reid said this shows the party doesn’t value the role of a local MLA.

“I was kind of shocked seeing them go up. I don’t understand why they’re not valuing what the representation of an MLA should be,” he said. “They’re riding on the coattails of the popularity of our premier.”

Robbins had a similar opinion.

“(Kinew) thinks he’s so popular that people are going to vote for Ray just because of his popularity.”

Brandon University political science professor Kelly Saunders said the NDP’s strategy of using Kinew’s likeness makes sense, considering how popular he is.

A June Probe Research poll found that 57 per cent of Manitobans approve of the NDP and would vote with them. Fifty per cent of rural residents were among those people.

“It just speaks to the strength of the Wab Kinew brand in this province,” Saunders said. “And that the party is trying to hopefully capitalize on that in this by election. I’m not surprised at this.”

Saunders said she doesn’t think this has to do with the party not believing in Berthelette, as he is known in the Brandon area and with the NDP.

“Ray Berthelette is well known, certainly within Brandon,” she said, noting he has worked with Brandon East MLA Glen Simard for a long time.

“It’s not a matter of the NDP not having faith in their candidate. I think it’s more just the fact that Wab Kinew is still so popular in the country, in the province.”

She said that could be a reason the party would do this if they were running an unknown candidate, but that this isn’t the case.

“For what it’s worth, I would think that the party certainly would feel that he’s a strong candidate for them because of his knowledge of issues within the region and certainly within Brandon.”

She said this strategy is similar to that of former PC premier Gary Filmon in the ’90s and former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2015, while they rode waves of popularity themselves.

» alambert@brandonsun.com