We went through 3 exhausting provincial elections this spring with Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. We were ready for a long nap before the federal election on October 21.
Then came Manitoba. We didn't have that in our 2019 Canadian politics preview since the province was scheduled to have a 2020 election. The Progressive Conservative government under Premier Brian Pallister wants to avoid a conflict with the province's sesquicentennial in 2020. So we will have a September 10 election in Manitoba.
The original fixed election date was October 6, 2020. The writ has not dropped, so Pallister will have to go to Manitoba Lieutenant Governor Janice Filmon at least 28 days before the election date to dissolve the legislature.
The PC government has 38 seats (down from 40 in 2016) while the opposition NDP has 12 seats (down from 14 in 2016). The Liberals have gone up from 3 (2016) to 4 seats (current). There is 1 Manitoba Party MLA and 2 Independents.
Wab Kinew is the opposition NDP leader. Dougald Lamont is the new Liberal Party leader (since 2017). James Beddome ran for the Green Party in 2016 and will run in 2019. Steven Fletcher of the Manitoba Party was elected as a Progressive Conservative MLA in 2016.
Brian Pallister, Progressive Conservatives end NDP reign in Manitoba
2019 Canadian politics preview
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage
The current government will lower the PST from 8% to 7% on Canada Day 2019. The national sales tax is 5% so those in Manitoba will see a drop from 13% to 12%.
Pallister is known for spending a lot of time in his home in Costa Rica. The premier was criticized for sending tweets to "stay warm" in the winter in bad conditions while being in the warmth of Costa Rica. Pallister was also criticized for not keeping up on the property assessment of his Costa Rica bungalow, owing about $8,000 in penalties and back taxes.
Kinew has criticized the Pallister Government for healthcare cuts, including the acceleration of the closure of the emergency room of the Seven Oaks hospital in Winnipeg.
The unions representing workers at Seven Oaks Hospital say staff are frustrated and have many unanswered questions about the closure of the ER.
The hospital's emergency department was supposed to close in September and be replaced with an urgent care centre. But the WRHA says now the timeline has been accelerated to this summer.
The initial polls show the PCs and NDP running close in the city of Winnipeg while the PCs enjoy more of an edge outside the capital.
There is a gamble in calling an early election. Every incumbent government that tries thinks there will get more seats. The last British election and the Quebec election of 2014 shows that strategy can backfire.
We don't if this is Kinew's time but I do remember hearing his story on the night of the 2016 election. His path is a bit unusual but you have to consider that the NDP picked their new leader knowing he had only been a politician for fewer than 18 months.
photo credit: me
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