Manitoba Election Update – The Final Week
In seven days, it will be the final voting day in the Manitoba general election, and by next Tuesday night, the outcome will be known. No matter what, history will be created: Manitoba will either have its first Indigenous Premier (and this would be a first across Canada) or Manitoba’s first woman elected as premier.
Overview
Advance polls opened on Saturday and will continue through this coming weekend. CBC reported that by Monday evening, more than 69,000 Manitobans had cast their ballots in the advance polls.
NDP Updates
Since CHG’s last update, the party leaders have unveiled additional campaign commitments. The New Democratic Party has promoted the following:
- Lifting the PST off new rental builds to create more affordable housing and grow the economy;
- Helping five thousand families convert their homes to geothermal energy;
- Bringing wait times down by adding 12 additional step-down beds to the Grace Hospital;
- Building an airport at Wasagamack First Nation
- Building a new Cancer Care Building to expand cancer services at the Health Sciences Centre; and
- Various educational initiatives including:
- Reducing class sizes for the youngest learners so kids get more one-on-one attention;
- Hiring more EAs to help kids with additional needs;
- A universal nutrition program in every school across the province; and
- Working with educators, families and communities to strengthen the K-12 curriculum with a specific focus on math and reading;
PC Party Updates
The PCs have highlighted the following:
- An annual $3-million fund to support security upgrades and repairs to retailers and hotels damaged by vandalism and petty crime across the province;
- Targeting the dangerous practice of street racing through a Safer Streets program focused on increasing enforcement and education;
- To improve public safety and bring proven community outreach support to downtown Brandon, a re-elected PC government will expand the Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) program with a $2-million grant to get it established;
- Expanding liquor sales into grocery stores and other vendors;
- A plan to nurture healthy communities across the province, addressing critical concerns for Manitobans, including the health-care workforce, access to primary care, addictions recovery, community projects, childcare, and mental health services;
- Prioritizing the needs of veterans experiencing homelessness, and to combat veteran homelessness and related issues in Manitoba;
- Doubling the number of provincially-funded addiction treatment spaces across Manitoba to 3,200 over the next two years, offering early intervention and faster access to treatment;
- Opening more than 640 new spaces by acquiring new ready-to-move (RTM) child-care centres for families in Winnipeg; and
- Making permanent the Arts, Culture and Sport in Community (ACSC) funding program.
Liberal Party Updates
The Manitoba Liberal Party has stressed the following:
- Measures to support the province’s creative industries and sports organizations today – including increasing funding to the Manitoba Arts Council by $20-million and increasing supports to Sport Manitoba; and
- Addressing longstanding issues facing Manitoba’s failing health care system and seniors in the province – including grants to allow seniors to stay at home longer, expanding homecare and palliative care programs in Manitoba, and restoring the coverage of lifesaving drugs.
Conclusion
Manitoba will either have its first Indigenous Premier or Manitoba’s first woman elected as premier. With the final voting day in the Manitoba around the corner, the outcome will make history.
