Commentary
Elections are often a source of fascination to those who are either directly involved in a campaign or have a vested interest in the party, leader, and candidates. The final election result, however, can have a much deeper meaning that affects not only constituents, but a broader segment of the population.
Case in point, the recent Manitoba election.
Heather Stefanson’s Progressive Conservatives have been in power since 2016. She became the 24th Premier of Manitoba on Nov. 2, 2021—and, as it happens, the first woman to ever lead her beloved province.
The longtime politician seemed well-suited for this important role. She had first won a seat in a 2000 byelection in the provincial riding of Tuexdo. She had served in senior ministerial roles (Justice and Attorney General, Health and Families) under then-premier Brian Pallister. She had a near-five year stint as deputy premier, and gradually became a trusted voice within her party caucus.
Unfortunately, Stefanson struggled mightily as premier almost from the get-go.
She
admitted to breaking conflict of interest rules in Manitoba in January 2022 for failing to disclose over $31 million in property sales earned while she was an MLA. A judge
ruled in March 2023 that she wouldn’t face any sanctions, but it was a stain on her political record that couldn’t be removed.
There was a March 2022
exchange with NDP leader Wab Kinew that got her into hot water. Kinew asked the premier about an ICU patient, Krystal Mousseau, who had unexpectedly passed away while she was being transferred to a hospital located outside the province. Stefanson’s response also included a shout-out to her son’s performance at a recent hockey game. This was hardly the time or place for this discussion. As Winnipeg Sun columnist Ryan Stelter wrote on March 18, 2022, “I have no problem with Stefanson taking the time to congratulate her son’s hockey team. MLAs do stuff like that all the time but to do it in response to a question about a tragic death? Yikes.”
Stefanson did apologize for her remarks, albeit two days later.
She also used the Winnipeg Pride Parade as a
photo-op in June 2022 when she didn’t march in it, but only spoke at the rally. There was also the October 2022 revelation that she had
used a secret email address for government communication. That’s a massive strategic error, as former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would surely attest.
When it came to ranking the Canadian premiers, Stefanson’s approval rating was
consistently near or at the bottom of Angus Reid Institute surveys. No matter what she did, her public reputation remained sullied. Even her government’s 2022 budget, which was viewed favourably by taxpayers and businesses, didn’t have much of an effect.
As expected, the NDP won 34 of 57 seats and 45.5 percent of the vote. Kinew is set to
become Canada’s first premier of First Nations descent. Sefanson and the PCs finished with 22 seats and 42.1 percent. A respectable performance, all things considered, but not nearly enough to hold power. Stefanson barely held on to her Tuxedo seat, and announced she’ll
resign as PC leader once the party has chosen her replacement.
What does this all mean? Many political analysts have chosen to focus on the historical premiership-to-be and several
accusations of racism and sexism during the campaign. In doing so, they’re missing the more obvious implications.
Manitoba will be
making a huge leftward shift that could be very damaging to its political and economic fortunes. Kinew’s political history has often heavily leaned towards more government intervention, increased public spending on health care and education, and barely any enthusiasm for free markets and private enterprise. His leadership likely won’t be that dissimilar. This was the voters’ choice to make, and they’ll have to live with the consequences. Canadians in other provinces will be watching with interest.
Meanwhile, the Manitoba election could be the first sign of a “boot out the government” mentality across Canada due to growing concerns about our political and economic conditions.
Canada isn’t in a recession just yet, but an unstable and unaffordable housing market, escalating costs of living and food prices and so on is leading us down that path. Stefanson and the PCs focused on some of these issues during the campaign, and they clearly didn’t resonate with voters. It also didn’t help that they had to face an already-frustrated electorate ready to blame those in power for putting us in this predicament, even if they had little or nothing to do with it.
The Manitoba election and Stefanson’s fall from grace could be a telltale sign of what other Canadian governments, both left-leaning and right-leaning, may face during their re-election bids. In particular, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
