Election Extra: Acclamation averted

Our late-afternoon news meeting on Monday had my eyebrows jump a little higher than normal.

With the Elections Canada deadline looming for candidates to file their papers, it appeared we might actually have a candidate win by acclamation in Manitoba. At that point in the day, Don Mazier, the incumbent Conservative Party of Canada MP in Riding Mountain, was the only approved candidate for the election ballot. I couldn’t remember the last time a Manitoba riding would be won by default and I was more than a little concerned about what that would say about the state of our democracy.

Fortunately, the paperwork from four other candidates was approved just in the nick of time so voters will have decisions to make in Riding Mountain.

I mention this near acclamation because elections do matter as we witnessed when Americans marked their ballots on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

If you are reading this newsletter, you already recognize your vote matters.

So, thank you for reading and thank you for getting ready to vote, whether your polling station is in Riding Mountain or any other of Canada’s 343 electoral districts.

Paul Samyn, Free Press Editor

TOP NEWS

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press:

Most Canadians say they’ve decided how they’ll vote in the election: poll

Posted: 10:50 AM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 8, 2025

OTTAWA - Midway through the federal election campaign, a new poll suggests most Canadians have already made up their minds. The Leger poll, conducted for The Canadian Press, suggests that 61 per ce... Read More

Maggie Macintosh:

Election as ‘very good learning moment’

Posted: 5:00 AM CDT Monday, Apr. 7, 2025

Manitoba students want to know how the major party leaders running to become the 25th prime minister plan to make new foreign friendships and maintain Canada’s independence. “How would you respond ... Read More

Erik Pindera:

‘Campaigns matter,’ NDP leader tells Winnipeggers, despite party’s flagging numbers in province

Posted: 2:08 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025

New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh, unbowed by dismal polling numbers in Manitoba, forged ahead with stops in Winnipeg Wednesday, telling supporters that “campaigns matter.” “If you want som... Read More

John Longhurst:

Religious beliefs affect who people vote for, expert finds

Posted: 2:02 AM CDT Saturday, Apr. 5, 2025

The more religious Canadians are, they more they tend to vote Conservative. The less religious they are, the more they lean towards the NDP. Read More

Malak Abas:

Losing with purpose

Posted: 6:03 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 4, 2025

Running for office with no chance to win is an exercise in electoral futility, but doomed candidates see a higher purpose for democracy Read More

Jen Zoratti:

Land of the flee

Posted: 4:47 PM CDT Monday, Apr. 7, 2025

Winnipeg-born physician moving back to Canada after ‘rank misogyny’ drives devolution of women’s rights Read More

Malak Abas:

‘Who’s ready to stand up for Canada?’

Posted: 1:19 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 1, 2025

Carney promises to fight back against Trump’s tariffs during Winnipeg stop Read More

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press:

What are the federal parties pitching to cure Canada’s housing crisis?

Posted: 5:00 AM CDT Sunday, Apr. 6, 2025

OTTAWA - Canada's federal parties are all campaigning on plans to make it easier for Canadians to get into the housing market. Some of those housing platforms have elements in common — promises to ... Read More

Carol Sanders:

Manning’s threat of western separatism panned in Manitoba

Posted: 6:12 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 4, 2025

The warning by a Conservative statesman that western separatism could rise in Manitoba if the Liberals are elected again has no traction with politicians and pundits here. Reform Party founder Pres... Read More

Carol Sanders:

Ex-Manitobans south of the border voting to keep the True North strong and free

Posted: 7:09 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 3, 2025

Manitobans living in the U.S. and keen to vote in Canada’s election say it’s one of most consequential for their former home and native land. Read More

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

Editorial:

No room for misinformation on drug policy

Posted: 2:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 8, 2025

Even as the Conservative Party of Canada falls further behind in public opinion polls, its leader is intent on using Trump-like tactics of misinformation and fearmongering to disparage Canada’s illicit drug policies. Read More

Tom Brodbeck:

Fuelled by patriotism, more Canadians will head to the ballot box this time around

Posted: 2:55 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 4, 2025

Voter turnout in this month’s federal election could be one of the highest in decades, if the patriotic fervour sweeping through Canada is any indication. The question is, which political party will it benefit the most? Read More

David McLaughlin:

A look at the growing discord in Western Canada

Posted: 2:02 AM CDT Saturday, Apr. 5, 2025

Our national unifying election is generating national unity discord. Not in Quebec but in Western Canada. Read More

Tom Brodbeck:

Code orange for NDP

Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Friday, Apr. 4, 2025

Soaring Liberal support has put Canada’s third party on Manitoba’s endangered-species list Read More

Paul G. Thomas:

The modernization of the Senate

Posted: 2:02 AM CDT Saturday, Apr. 5, 2025

Senate reform and ongoing modernization of its operations will not be a prominent issue in the current election. However, the outcome of the election will have significant consequences for the role of the Senate in the national policy process and for the dynamics of its internal decision-making. Read More

Dan Lett:

Stunning collapse in polls leaves Poilievre, Tories with little to do but hope Carney fumbles on way to goal line

Posted: 1:30 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025

To pivot or not to pivot? That is the question facing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he barrels towards the midway point in the federal election campaign. You would think some sort of chan... Read More

Tom Brodbeck:

Liberals hope for gains in Manitoba to get foothold in Prairies

Posted: 9:03 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 1, 2025

There may not be a huge amount of voter support for Liberal Leader Mark Carney to mine in Manitoba. But in a federal election that most polls now say is the Liberal party’s to lose, every single riding — including two or three the Liberals could pick up in Manitoba — have become increasingly important. Read More

Patricia Dawn Robertson:

Mark Carney, you had me at free dental

Posted: 2:00 AM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025

I know that I’m preaching to the choir here, Winnipeg, but I’m going to sing the praises of our new Liberal prime minister anyway. Read More

MANITOBA RIDING NEWS

Malak Abas:

Strategies and second chances

Posted: 5:26 PM CDT Monday, Apr. 7, 2025

Liberal focuses on mobilizing voters as opportunity knocks for Tory Read More

Kevin Rollason:

Six Manitoba ridings that could flip

Posted: 3:45 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 3, 2025

Pundits and former MPs and MLAs for each of the three main parties weigh in on ridings they are watching closely Read More

Malak Abas:

A face-to-face pace in tight race

Posted: 5:14 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 3, 2025

Newly named, configured riding pits current, former area MPs in battle being fought on largely undecided doorsteps Read More

PROMISE TRACKER

What the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP have promised in the last week, to deliver if elected.

For a complete list of promises over the campaign, as well as more details on these commitments, see our more comprehensive promise tracker online.

Conservatives

A “one-and-done” approach to approving resource projects that sees one application and one environmental review for each project
Fund recovery treatment for 50,000 people facing addiction
Cut bureaucratic red tape by 25 per cent in two years
Create a new criminal offence for assaulting an intimate partner, and pass a law to require the strictest possible bail conditions for anyone accused of intimate partner violence
Cut federal sales tax from Canadian-made vehicles to support an auto industry reeling from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs
Early renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement ahead of its planned revision in 2026 and to seek a pause on all tariffs during those negotiations

Liberals

Conservation measures, including the creation of at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, as well as 15 new urban parks
Invest $100 million in a “strategic water security technology fund” to advance Canadian research and development, artificial intelligence, monitoring and data tools
Make national parks and historic sites available for free this summer
Temporary supports to help retirees cope with U.S. tariffs that are punishing markets around the globe.
Support for the skilled trades through a new apprenticeship grant, increased access to union-led training initiatives and a new $20 million capital funding stream for colleges
Increase labour mobility between provinces and territories
Boost CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding by $150 million a year and enshrine its funding structure in law
Strengthen Canada’s agri-food sector and maintain production quotas that have caused friction in trade talks with the U.S.
Cutting regulations and earmarking $200 million for domestic food processing
Make permanent the recent doubling of the AgriStability payment cap to $6 million

NDP

Spend $16 billion over four years to build three million homes by 2030
Implement national rent control to protect tenants from unfair rent increases
Push provinces to ban so-called renovictions and fixed-term leases
Ensure all Canadians have access to a family doctor by 2030.
Make it easier for American doctors to come to Canada, and to reduce the paperwork that eats up doctors’ time.
Close loopholes that allow corporations to put money in offshore accounts
Tax-free savings bonds to shore up the economy against Trump’s tariffs.
Protect essential Canadian industries like public hydro, critical minerals and the cultural sector, and ban American companies from federal procurement contracts if Canadian workers can do the job

— compiled by The Canadian Press