Latest news with #Kinew
Global News
2 hours ago
- Business
- Global News
Manitoba, Sask. governments agree to bolster northern trade via Churchill port
The governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are teaming up with the Arctic Gateway Group (AGG) in a push to boost northern trade, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced Tuesday. The deal, which revolves around Canada's only deepwater Arctic port, in Churchill, Man., is intended to improve access to global markets, as well as enhance infrastructure and supply chains. 'Churchill presents huge opportunities when it comes to mining, agriculture and energy,' Kinew said in a statement Tuesday. 'Through this agreement with AGG and Saskatchewan, we are going to unlock new opportunities for businesses in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to get goods to market.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The two governments and AGG signed a memorandum of understanding with a five-year plan, which will see Manitoba take the lead on securing federal infrastructure funding, and Saskatchewan working with commodity producers and exporters. Story continues below advertisement Kinew's counterpart to the west, Scott Moe, said Saskatchewan is committed to strengthening trade via the new transportation corridor. 'Streamlining access to ports, such as Churchill, will allow our goods better access to new and emerging international markets,' Moe said. 'Today's MOU between Saskatchewan and Manitoba is another way we are building on that progress and creating new opportunities for our industries.'
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Tory complaints miss the mark
Opinion For the past number of weeks, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has been criticized by the Progressive Conservatives and some in the media for delaying the byelection call in the Spruce Woods constituency. More recently, he has also been attacked for a series of spending commitments for initiatives in and around that riding. The complaints are unwarranted for several reasons, beginning with the fact that the premier is not breaching any elections law, rule or regulation by taking his time to set the date for the byelection. Under Manitoba's Elections Act, the contest must occur within six months of the seat becoming vacant. Former Spruce Woods MLA Grant Jackson resigned on March 24, which means the byelection must be held by Sept. 24. That's still more than two months away. Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun Premier Wab Kinew reacts while sparring with a reporter over the vacant Spruce Woods riding seat after an announcement at Brandon University's Brodie Science Centre. The law also requires that election campaigns must be no shorter than 28 days and no longer than 32 days. As such, Kinew must call the Spruce Woods byelection on or before Aug. 27. In other words, he still has several weeks before being obligated to drop the byelection writ. The six-month period may seem unreasonable — some might say opportunistic — but it exists for a reason. It takes time for political parties to recruit credible candidates to seek a nomination, for parties to hold nomination contests and meetings, to build campaign teams, raise funds and do all the door knocking that is required. Six months is a reasonable period of time to get all that done. Beyond that reality, the Tories are also holding Kinew to a different standard than they adhered to when they were in government. In 2022, former premier Heather Stefanson took 152 days to call a byelection in the Thompson riding, and took even longer — 162 days — to call a byelection in Winnipeg's Kirkfield Park riding. On the issue of pre-writ spending, the Tories argue that the government is abusing its authority. In the past three months, Kinew and/or members of his cabinet have made at least six appearances in and around the Spruce Woods riding (which includes the northern portion of Brandon), where they have announced or reannounced more than $330 million in provincial funding for various local initiatives. That includes $120 million in funding and financing for Assiniboine College, $189 million for road and bridge repairs in Westman and $3.3 million for renovations to Brandon University's aging science building. Last week, Kinew also announced that his government is doubling the number of students training to be doctors in Brandon from 10 to 20. The flurry of announcements has irked the Tories, but previous Manitoba PC governments were just as guilty of engaging in targeted spending sprees prior to byelections. That said, are the Tories seriously suggesting that the government should not be investing all that money in Westman on roads, bridges, health care and post-secondary education? It would be political suicide to articulate that precise argument to voters, and yet that is the implication of their grievance. Perhaps the greatest flaw in the Tories' complaints regarding the Kinew government's flurry of promises is the likelihood that all that spending won't change which party's candidate wins the Spruce Woods byelection. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Since its creation in 2011, the riding has always been represented by a Progressive Conservative MLA, who has always been elected by a huge margin. In the 2023 provincial election, Jackson received more than 61 per cent of the votes cast, and that was the lowest percentage for a Tory candidate since the riding came into existence. The NDP candidate received just 24 per cent. Given that history, does Kinew honestly think his NDP team can win what has consistently been one of the province's safest Tory seats? Pundits asked that same question in the context of Winnipeg's Tuxedo riding until the NDP won it in a byelection last year. With the recent rash of promises, the premier is attempting to buy himself a chance of repeating that achievement in Spruce Woods. The odds are seriously stacked against him, but he lacks for neither confidence nor optimism. At a minimum, he's made the Spruce Woods byelection much more interesting than expected — and the Tories are getting nervous. Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. deverynrossletters@ X: @deverynross
Winnipeg Free Press
19 hours ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba signs pro-trade agreements with four provinces
Manitoba has agreed to break down trade barriers and increase labour mobility with four additional provinces. On Monday at a premiers meeting in Ontario, Premier Wab Kinew signed memoranda of understanding with his counterparts in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, a news release issued by the Manitoba government said. 'These agreements reflect Manitoba's ongoing efforts to build a stronger, more unified Canadian economy, one where goods, services and workers can move more freely between provinces, while maintaining the highest standards for health and safety,' Kinew said in the news release. 'By working with partners across the nation, we are unlocking opportunities for people and businesses, building up this country we all love so much.' The agreements align with Manitoba's Fair Trade in Canada (Internal Trade Mutual Recognition) Act and Labour Mobility Act, said Kinew. The co-operation agreements include a shared commitment to remove internal trade barriers, work to ensure credential recognition with other provinces' licensing and regulatory frameworks, and to allow for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales from Manitoba producers, and a commitment to further discussions to give consumers more choice and create new markets for producers, the release said. Manitoba signed a similar MOU with Ontario in May. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have been strong trading partners through the New West Partnership Trade Agreement that includes the four western provinces, neighbouring Premier Scott Moe said in the release. 'Together, we are encouraging other jurisdictions to join Canada's most ambitious domestic trade agreement, and we are building on our economic relationship through further trade collaboration, for example, on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales,' Moe said. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. B.C. Premier David Eby, a New Democrat, said his province and Manitoba 'share values and a commitment to put our people first. I'm happy to be able to team up with my good friend Wab Kinew to directly benefit families by growing the economy in both of our provinces.' fpcity@
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
If Tories aren't careful, old yellow dog could learn new NDP tricks in rural byelection
Opinion If the stars align just so, they might end up calling this the 'Miracle of Spruce Woods.' Speculation has run rampant that Premier Wab Kinew has delayed calling a byelection in Spruce Woods to give the NDP a chance to steal a seat from the Progressive Conservatives. At first blush, it seems like an enormous long shot. Spruce Woods — vacated in March when MLA Grant Jackson resigned to run for the federal Conservatives in April's election — is located squarely in the heart of what PC supporters lovingly refer to as 'yellow dog' country. The term was reportedly first coined in the 1960s by a Tory who claimed the party could run a yellow dog in most western and southern Manitoba rural ridings and win. So entrenched are the PCs in some of these ridings that the NDP and Liberals rarely put up much of a fight. The Tories may still win the byelection — which, by law, must be held no later than Sept. 16 — but they will have to do it in the face of a stiffer-than-usual challenge from the governing NDP. Kinew's party is already feeling pretty unbeatable following the historic June 2024 byelection win in Tuxedo, the seat abandoned by former premier Heather Stefanson after after she led the PCs to a resounding defeat at the ballot box in October 2023. Now, NDP sources confirmed that Kinew and his strategists believe Spruce Woods could also be winnable, largely because of a series of forces and events that could conspire to weaken the PC brand. First off, there is the riding itself. The current version of Spruce Woods was formed out of parts of Minnedosa, Turtle Mountain and Arthur Virden — all yellow-dog ridings. But in a 2018 electoral boundaries redistribution, it also picked up polls from Brandon, which is more fertile ground for New Democrats. Then, there is the rising tide of far-right populism that has saturated some parts of southern and western Manitoba. The PCs were so concerned about the growing support for libertarian independents and fringe parties that they ventured way out on the far right of their policy spectrum in the 2023 general election. The Tories pinned their dim re-election hopes on pledges to stand firm against any search of the Prairie Green landfill to find the remains of Indigenous victims of a serial killer, and the vague pledge to support the mantra of 'parental rights' that was embraced by anti-LGBTTQ+ activists. While those policies could not stop the NDP in its march to a majority, some Tory strategists believe they helped retain seats in yellow-dog country. PC Leader Obby Khan has disowned both campaign planks, and while that may be good for the party's future fortunes in Winnipeg, it could have the opposite effect outside the Perimeter Highway. There are also issues to consider around the rather-ambiguous process that resulted in Khan's leadership victory. Under a new system that awarded points to a candidate based on the number of party members who actually voted in the leadership race, he prevailed over populist Wally Daudrich, who won the raw vote by 53 votes. The results suggested Daudrich had tapped into the far-right sensibilities of voters, some traditional PC voters and others who are farther right than the Manitoba Tories have been willing to go. Will Daudrich supporters show up to vote for a candidate running for a party led by Khan, the leader who many rural residents believe won on a technicality? Maybe, but maybe not. The business of byelections is much different than general elections. Campaigns get significantly less media attention and far fewer people show up to vote; in most byelections, total turnout is half or less than it would be in a general election. That means an upstart party, particularly one that is motivated and has the cash to conduct a blitz of the riding, needs fewer gross votes to win. Finally, there are questions surrounding the Tories' capacity to campaign in Spruce Woods. They are currently cash-poor, having spent heavily on a failed election effort. Parties that lose elections typically find it hard to raise money, and Manitoba's PCs are no different. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. It does not help that Khan has kept a decidedly low profile since the legislature rose for the summer. Party sources confirmed he has been immersed in pressing internal PC business and unable to get out to press the flesh with Manitobans. Khan is dealing with the need to hire a new party CEO, the impending sale of longtime PC Winnipeg headquarters at 23 Kennedy St. and finding a new generation of senior staff to support him in the months and years ahead. The Tories are understandably frustrated that Kinew has not yet called the byelection. However, the PCs need to move quickly to unknot their knickers so that they can get down to the business of bringing their 'A' game to Spruce Woods. Under current conditions, if they pause — even for a moment — to take voters in this riding for granted, this yellow dog could find a new owner. Dan LettColumnist Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan. Dan's columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press' editing team reviews Dan's columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
NDP puts politics ahead of voters in Spruce Woods
Opinion It's been nearly four months since the people of Spruce Woods have had a voice in the Manitoba legislature — Premier Wab Kinew has still not called a byelection for the rural seat, which has been vacant since March. The premier is waiting until the NDP has a competitive candidate and campaign team lined up first. Let that sink in. The premier is deliberately delaying a byelection — and denying Spruce Woods voters a representative — because it might help his political party. That's not just undemocratic, it's a textbook example of a conflict of interest. It's exactly why the province should act to reduce the maximum time allowed to call a byelection after a seat becomes vacant. Under Manitoba law, a byelection must held no later than 180 days after an MLA vacates a seat. That means one has to be held in Spruce Woods by at least Sept. 24. That's far too long. It gives too much power to the governing party to manipulate the timing for its own political benefit. The law needs to change. The byelection window should be reduced to 90 days. That would still give a reasonable amount of time for parties to prepare and campaigns to organize — but it would prevent premiers from sitting on vacant seats to rig the chessboard in their own favour. Because that's exactly what's happening right now. The seat in Spruce Woods has been vacant since March 24, when Progressive Conservative MLA Grant Jackson resigned to run in the federal election. Since Jackson's resignation, the riding has had no voice in the legislature, no MLA to meet with, and no one to ask questions on their behalf. Kinew's not in any rush to fill that seat. Instead, he's putting the interests of his party ahead of the people of Spruce Woods. Meanwhile, the NDP government is making a flurry of spending announcements in the riding, including $95,000 for an aeration system for Oak Lake, $500,000 for Brandon's Spruce Woods Housing Co-Op and $19.7 million to rehabilitate Oak Lake Dam. This week, Kinew announced an increase in doctor training in the western part of the province. He's using the power of office for partisan gain. That's wrong. It's highly unlikely Spruce Woods will flip to the NDP in the upcoming byelection, whenever it's held. It's been a Tory stronghold since the constituency was created in 2011. The Tories won the riding in the 2023 provincial election with a plurality of more than 3,000 votes, taking 61.3 per cent of the vote. The NDP drew only 23.8 per cent support. But that's not the point. The point is the people of Spruce Woods are being denied representation in the legislative assembly. Kinew's tactics may be politically strategic. But it's not leadership. And it's not how a premier should approach the sacred responsibility of representative democracy. The job of a premier is to govern for all Manitobans — not just the ones who voted for your party. Not just the constituencies they think you can flip. When a seat is empty, the premier has a duty to fill it — quickly and fairly — so those voters are not left voiceless. There's already a baked-in advantage for the governing party in any byelection. They control the timing, the resources, and they tend to dominate the news cycle. Dragging their heels for months on end only tilts the playing field even more. Unfortunately, governments of all stripes have done this in the past. Just because it's been done before doesn't mean it's right — and it certainly doesn't mean it should continue. It's time to take that power out of the premier's hands and build in more accountability. A 90-day deadline would strike a much better balance between practicality and fairness. It would mean no community goes more than three months without an MLA — a far more reasonable threshold in a modern democracy. It would also ensure byelections are called while the issues are still fresh and relevant to voters. When a premier uses his office to delay an election so he can engineer a better political outcome for his party, that's an abuse of power. It doesn't matter if it's the NDP, the PCs or anyone else in charge — it's wrong, and voters see through it. Gong half a year without an MLA is unacceptable. If Kinew believes in democratic values — as he claims to — he should stop playing politics with Spruce Woods and call the byelection immediately. Enough with the delay tactics. The people of that riding deserve representation. And going forward, Manitobans deserve a law that ensures this kind of stunt can't happen again. Shorten the byelection window. Make it 90 days and bring some integrity back to the process. Tom BrodbeckColumnist Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom. Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press's editing team reviews Tom's columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
