Finance minister eyes premier’s chair

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This article was published 11/08/2021 (1490 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Finance Minister Scott Fielding is the first Tory to publicly say he may take a run at the Progressive Conservative leadership.

“I’m very seriously considering it,” the MLA for Kirkfield Park said in a brief interview Wednesday, a day after Premier Brian Pallister announced he’s stepping aside midway through his mandate.

Fielding said he will be consulting with family and friends and make a decision over the next number of days.

“I stand a good chance beating (NDP Leader) Wab Kinew in the next election,” Fielding said, citing his experience in city and provincial politics, and being able to garner votes in Winnipeg and suburbs that haven’t been “overwhelmingly conservative.”

Fielding was first elected to Winnipeg council in 2006, in St. James-Brooklands. He switched to provincial politics in 2016, winning a seat in Kirkfield Park.

A “common-sense approach” and being a “hockey dad” are qualities Manitobans can identity with, Fielding said.

When asked why he would want to lead the PC party at a time when it’s floundering in the polls, Fielding said it’s because he cares. “As a Manitoban, you want what’s best for the province.”

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With experience as finance minister, Fielding said he’s prepared to help steer Manitoba through an economic recovery. “As we go forward beyond the (COVID-19) pandemic, I think I bring a lot of strength with that.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is 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.