Sala losing credibility over unsound election promise

“We’ll cross those bridges when we get there. I remain completely focused on ensuring we deliver on that goal, and I’m excited about bringing forward our next budget so we can show Manitoba the progress we’ve made.”

— Finance Minister Adrien Sala

As we were saying just six days ago …

Manitobans will be paying the price for a government decision that had more to do with populism than good governance. And the minister in charge can’t find a defensible excuse for his lack of accountability.

Early last year, the Kinew government announced that it would impose a one-year rate freeze on Manitoba Hydro. Given the financial pressure that the Crown corporation has been facing, we argued at the time that the decision was reckless, given the fact that Manitobans would only end up paying higher rates down the road as a result.

Our words were prophetic, as late last year the Manitoba Public Utilities Board ordered that rates charged by Manitoba Hydro for electricity would rise by an interim four per cent as of Jan. 1, 2026, with the final rates for the next three years yet to be determined by the PUB. It is the maximum increase allowed under the Manitoba Hydro Act.

As a point of fact, Hydro initially requested a 3.5 per cent rate increase for each of the fiscal years of 2026, 2027 and 2028. We would not be surprised if the next rate increases also go beyond the 3.5 per cent that was initially asked for by the corporation.

This substantive increase should not surprise anyone who has been watching water levels over the last few years. Manitoba has been in a persistent, multi-year drought situation since 2021, with Hydro noting last year that the 2024-25 fiscal year was the “second low water year in a row and third Manitoba Hydro has experienced in four years.”

By the end of 2025, the PUB noted that water flows into Hydro’s watershed were at the second-lowest levels in 112 years.

“As a result of the severe drought, Manitoba Hydro’s financial metrics have deteriorated by more than $625 million,” the board said, as it announced the four per cent rate hike. “In the board’s view, an increase equal to the legislated rate cap of four per cent is necessary to protect the financial health of the utility.”

How on earth did the NDP government under Wab Kinew not plan for yet another financial loss for the Crown corporation? It simply beggars belief that someone at Manitoba Hydro didn’t warn the government that another dry year was in the forecast. Last January, meteorologists were predicting some hot and dry conditions in the centre of the continent, between May and September.

Even if they hadn’t, a practical view of the budget by a competent finance minister would have made allowance for such a reality, given the past years of drought conditions that were hurting Manitoba Hydro’s bottom line.

This was all foreseeable.

Yet the province’s decision to enact a rate freeze for 2025 was a major factor in the corporation’s $294-million loss during the first six months of the 2025-26 fiscal year. And by this coming March — the end of the fiscal year — it was projecting a year-end loss of some $409 million.

We are forced to agree with Progressive Conservative finance critic Lauren Stone, who said this week that it was “irresponsible” of the NDP to order a rate freeze when the Crown corporation is dealing with a total debt load of $25 billion.

And yet Mr. Sala tells the Winnipeg Free Press with a straight face that it was important to give Manitobans “a bit of a break.” This, even after the PUB says the future of Manitoba Hydro is in jeopardy because of its debt situation.

And he had the audacity to then stand by the NDP government’s promise to balance the books by the 2027 election, but refused to step down if he couldn’t make it happen.

The finance minister must take Manitobans for fools.

The only way that this government can give the appearance of a balanced budget is to severely curtail its spending — a highly unlikely scenario, given the impractical spending habits of this government — or put forward a questionable financial document before the next election that doesn’t have any hope of hitting its financial targets after the ballots are counted.

From our perspective, the province’s fiscal plan is in tatters, and Mr. Sala is destroying his own credibility by belabouring an untenable election promise.

Of course, our view of Mr. Sala might change if he took a principled stand and committed to stepping down should he be unable to make good on his government’s balanced budget promise.

That’s a decision we could definitely get behind.