Wab Kinew makes history as Manitoba NDP projected to form majority government
Story by Sam Thompson • GLOBAL NEWS
Premier-designate Wab Kinew speaks to media after Tuesday night's election
Manitoba voters made history Tuesday night.
After seven years of Progressive Conservative governments under premiers Brian Pallister and Heather Stefanson, Global News projects the Manitoba NDP will be back at the helm of a majority government.
Leader Wab Kinew, who is projected to be re-elected in his own riding of Fort Rouge, is set to become the first premier of First Nations descent in a Canadian province. He called the result a victory for all Manitobans.
A musician, broadcast journalist, and university administrator prior to his entry into politics, Kinew moved to Winnipeg as a child from Onigaming First Nation in Ontario.
Kinew was first elected as an MLA in 2016, and became NDP leader in 2017. His party's result Tuesday night is a significant improvement over his first provincial election as leader, a dominant performance by his PC opposition that saw the NDP with only 25 per cent of seats in the legislature.
"My dear sweet Manitoba, look at what we have done here tonight," Kinew said in his victory speech Tuesday.
"A lot of people in the big cities, they look down on us here in Manitoba. 'Fly-over country', they said. 'Winterpeg, Man-it's-cold-out,' they said... but look at what little old Manitoba did tonight.
"Manitoba did something more progressive than any of those big cities ever did. We elected a strong team of New Democrats to fix healthcare and make your life more affordable."
Video: Manitoba Election: NDP aims to succeed where PCs failed, MLA says
With Tuesday's result, the premier-designate makes history, but so did his predecessor — Stefanson was the first woman to serve as premier in Manitoba.Stefanson, who replaced former premier Brian Pallister after his resignation 2021, has held the Tuxedo riding for more than two decades. Results in that race are still coming in, but Stefanson announced she will be stepping down as PC leader.
When she spoke to supporters Tuesday night, Stefanson congratulated Kinew on his historic victory, and said it was an honour to serve as premier.
"I have been a candidate for seven elections and I respect the will of the voters... and today the voters have spoken," she said.
"Mr. Kinew and I don't always agree on everything, but like me I know that he loves this province and he loves the people of Manitoba and I wish him all the best and will make every effort in a smooth transition in the premiership."
Video: Manitoba Election: Heather Stefanson concedes to Wab Kinew sealing historic victory
In an emotional speech as results continued to roll in Tuesday night, Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont announced that he will be stepping down as leader of his party. Lamont, who had represented the St. Boniface riding, was defeated by the NDP's Robert Loiselle.
"Ultimately the people have decided, and sometimes you get caught in a wave and doesn't seem to matter what you do," Lamont said, calling the campaign one of the hardest he's ever taken part in, but also one of the best.
"I always knew this (result) was a possibility, but we had to hope beyond hope and keep working and do everything we could to run the best possible campaign."
The Green Party of Manitoba, which has yet to win a seat in a provincial election, continued that track record Tuesday, with Leader Janine Gibson falling short of her bid for the Wolseley riding, which is projected to be retained by incumbent Lisa Naylor of the NDP.
Winnipeg mayor Scott Gillingham congratulated Kinew and the NDP on their victory in a release just after Stefanson conceded defeat. Gillingham said he's eager to work with the new provincial government, and acknowledged Stefanson for her partnership on a number of projects over the past year.
Video: Manitoba Election: Dougald Lamont steps down as Liberal leader in emotional speech
The first person from among any of the three Indigenous groups in Canada to become a provincial premier was John Norquay, who was Métis, and who led Manitoba from 1878 to 1887.
Solid NDP win cements Kinew as 1st First Nations premier in Manitoba history
The NDP sailed to victory Tuesday night with a solid win that cements leader Wab Kinew as Manitoba's first First Nations premier and also nets the party enough seats to form a majority government.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew led his party with a projected win in Fort Rouge, and while results continue to come in, the New Democrats will come away with at least the 29 seats needed to form a majority government.
"This is a great victory for all of us in Manitoba," Kinew said to thunderous applause at NDP campaign headquarters Tuesday night. "We can do amazing things when we stand together as one province."
Kinew's win makes Manitoba the first Canadian province to elect a First Nations premier.
He thanked Heather Stefanson for her service as premier.
The PC leader will step down as party leader, she said as she conceded her party's defeat to the NDP.
Stefanson became Manitoba's first woman premier when she took the job after Brian Pallister stepped down in fall 2021.
"Mr. Kinew and I don't always agree on everything, but like me, I know that he loves this province and he loves the people of Manitoba," Stefanson said.
"Wab, I hope that your win tonight inspires a future generation of Indigenous youth to get involved in our democratic process — not just here in Manitoba but right across the country."
As of 2 a.m. CT Wednesday, Stefanson led in her Tuxedo riding, with 25 of 26 polls reporting.
After the Kirkfield Park byelection last year, the PCs held 36 seats to the NDP's 18, and the Liberals had three — one seat short of official party status.
On Tuesday, CBC projected the NDP won 30 seats, the PCs won 19 and the Liberals were down to one, with seven races still too tight to call as of 2 a.m. CT.
In the December 2022 Kirkfield Park byelection, former city councillor Kevin Klein came out on top for the PCs — but on Tuesday night, NDP opponent Logan Oxenham wrested Kirkfield Park away from Klein, who was a cabinet minister.
The PCs managed to hang on to a chunk of conservative strongholds outside of Winnipeg on Tuesday, including Ron Schuler's win in Springfield-Ritchot and Kelvin Goertzen's in Steinbach.
But the party suffered a severe blow when PC cabinet ministers Audrey Gordon (Southdale), Rochelle Squires (Riel), Janice Morley-Lecomte (Seine River) and James Teitsma (Radisson) lost their seats to NDP rivals.
Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont also conceded defeat to NDP candidate Robert Loiselle in St. Boniface.
"Ultimately the people have decided, and sometimes you get caught in a wave, and sometimes it doesn't matter what you do," Lamont said. "I know we changed hearts and minds in this election, but I also know that's not always enough."
Lamont stepped down as leader as the party was "basically wiped out," he said, reduced from three seats to one, which went to Cindy Lamoureux in Tyndall Park.
Longtime Liberal MLA for River Heights Jon Gerrard was taken down by the NDP's Mike Moroz. Gerrard was first elected in 1999.
"This feels really great.… All the indications we were getting from people were positive," Wasyliw said. "I think we need to heal Manitoba … think health care has become a symbol of that."
Kinew greets supporters at his campaign headquarters in Winnipeg on Tuesday. (David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press)© Provided by cbc.ca
A number of MLAs who held critic files while the NDP were the Official Opposition were re-elected, including Adrien Sala (St. James), Lisa Naylor (Wolseley), Nahanni Fontaine (St. Johns), Nello Altomare (Transcona), Matt Wiebe (Concordia), Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas) and Uzoma Asagwara (Union Station).
But new faces also helped vault the party ahead, like Winnipeg school board trustee Jennifer Chen, who seized Fort Richmond from the PCs. Rachelle Schott (Kildonan-River East) and Oxenham, who lost to Klein the first time they faced off in the Kirkfield Park byelection last year, are two other rookies who propelled the NDP to a win.
Outside Winnipeg, Tom Lindsey (Flin Flon), Eric Redhead (Thompson), Ian Bushie (Keewatinook) and Amanda Lathlin (The Pas-Kameesak) pocketed four northern seats for the NDP, while Glen Simard picked up Brandon East.
Uzoma Azagwara, NDP candidate for Union Station, waits for election results on Tuesday night. (James Turner/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca
A record 200,790 Manitobans — nearly a quarter of all eligible voters — cast ballots in advance polls, Elections Manitoba said.
In 2019, about 112,814 advance votes were cast — the next-highest number on record. That election saw a 55 per cent turnout.
The PCs rose to power in 2016 under then-premier Brian Pallister.
Stefanson won a hotly contested PC leadership campaign against rival Shelly Glover in fall 2021 after Pallister resigned. She announced Tuesday she would step down as party leader, but didn't say when.
In the two weeks ahead of election day, two polls — one by Angus Reid and another by Probe Research — put the NDP ahead with a six- and then 11-point percentage lead, respectively.
The New Democrats emerged victorious after a weeks-long barrage of attack ads from the PCs.
The PCs ratcheted up their ads in the past few weeks in what some political scientists speculated was a sign of desperation in the waning days of the campaign.
Manitoba PC Leader Heather Stefanson announces she is stepping down as leader after the NDP won enough seats Tuesday night to form a majority government.
Kinew and his team largely stuck to health-care pledges — including a promise to reopen three Winnipeg emergency rooms shuttered during Brian Pallister's time as PC leader. The first to be restored will be Victoria Hospital, followed by Seven Oaks General Hospital and Concordia.
Kinew also pledged to build a new ER in Eriksdale, Man.
It'll take two terms, or up to eight years, for the NDP to fully restore ERs, the party said.
Among other things, Kinew committed to temporarily pausing the provincial gas tax, freezing Manitoba Hydro rates for a year and adding more social and affordable housing.
He criticized the PCs for campaigning on their decision not to search a landfill for the remains of two First Nations women police allege were killed by a serial killer
Upon winning Tuesday, Kinew called the PC campaign one with a "divisive message." He thanked voters for showing the rest of the world that the "people of Manitoba are good people."
"I want to express our tremendous gratitude for this awesome responsibility that you have bestowed upon us," he said.
Kinew ended his address to supporters by introducing his mother on stage and leading the crowd in singing her happy birthday.
Incoming Manitoba premier Wab Kinew says focus turns to fixing health care
WINNIPEG — Incoming Manitoba premier Wab Kinew says the hard work begins now as his New Democrats work to fulfil their campaign promise to fix health care in the province.
Kinew says that work includes adding front-line health staff while building new emergency rooms and a cancer care facility.
Kinew is set to become Canada’s first First Nations provincial premier.
His party defeated the Progressive Conservatives on Tuesday to form a majority government.
The result led to the resignation of the other two main party leaders, including PC Premier Heather Stefanson.
Stefanson announced she would step down after leading the Tories for nearly two years.
As of Wednesday morning, Stefanson was narrowly holding onto her seat in the Winnipeg riding of Tuxedo.
Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont resigned after he lost his Winnipeg riding and his party was reduced to one seat from the previous three.
Kinew told reporters Wednesday that he's pleased voters rejected the politics of division and embraced his party’s message of unity.
“It's my intention to move the ball forward so that the future generation can do even more powerful things than we can imagine today,” said Kinew
“(Becoming premier) is the most difficult thing that I've ever done in my life, and the real work hasn't even begun yet,” he added.
“I'm going to treat this job with the utmost of reverence and the humility that I believe will be necessary to serve you, the people of Manitoba, and of course I hope to make a positive contribution for all Canadians.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.
The Canadian Press
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