Kinew’s rebuke of Speaker shows he’s lost confidence in him: Khan By: Carol Sanders Posted: 7:13 PM CDT Wednesday, May. 6, 2026 Last Modified: 7:43 PM CDT Wednesday, May. 6, 2026 Updates

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan says it sounds like the premier has lost confidence in the Speaker.

Speaker Tom Lindsey added the words “racist,” “bigot,” “misogynist,” “transphobe” and “homophobe” to existing banned words in the legislative chamber Monday after excessive heckling in recent months. Premier Wab Kinew rebuked the move later that day, saying he would continue to “call out hate” when he sees it.

“The language that the Speaker has identified is language that is banned as unparliamentary in other legislatures,” Khan said Wednesday. “It’s up to the Speaker to enforce (the ban). It will be interesting to see how he enforces (it).”

Khan noted decorum in the chamber had noticeably improved Wednesday.

Tory MLA Wayne Ewasko was ejected from the chamber Monday for refusing to apologize unequivocally for heckling last month when he said Kinew, who doesn’t drink alcohol, had been drinking.

After Lindsey’s ruling, the premier was asked about his relationship with the Speaker, the NDP MLA for Flin Flon, whose role is non-partisan.

“I’ve known (Lindsey) for a decade now,” Kinew said. “We’ve been colleagues and when somebody says something is racist, I think it’s up to the folks who have not been part of that historically targeted community to listen.”

The premier wasn’t made available for an interview Wednesday and the Speaker declined an interview request.

“It’s a bad advertisement for Manitoba politics… can you not think of ways in which you can lower the heat?”

Ewasko’s one-day ban was the first time in five years an MLA was ejected from the chamber. In 2021, NDP MLA Nahanni Fontaine was kicked out for using unparliamentary language, when she said the Tory government “doesn’t give a crap about Indigenous women and girls in this province.” She refused to withdraw the statement.

In March, Khan was heard heckling deputy premier Uzoma Asagwara, referring to Manitoba’s first non-binary MLA, who uses they/them pronouns as “a terrible person — whatever you are.” He later apologized but said his remark was taken out of context and not meant to dehumanize Asagwara.

In addition to banning words, the Speaker cracked down on rhetoric and heckling. MLAs who ignore three warnings won’t be recognized by the chair; a fourth warning would result in them being named and ejected for the day.

“Setting this new standard for our legislature is necessary to ensure that the people’s business is conducted in a civil, orderly manner consistent with the practices of the federal parliament and every other jurisdiction in Canada,” Lindsey said Monday.

His actions attracted national media attention, where experts say the war of words won’t end until both sides agree to lay down their weapons.

“The Speaker has to screw up his courage and do something about it,” said Allen Mills, a retired University of Winnipeg political science professor. “Maybe have a meeting with Khan and Kinew and say ‘Look, it’s really unacceptable. It’s a bad advertisement for Manitoba politics — can you not think of ways in which you can lower the heat?’”

Then again, he’s not sure the leaders could ever be in close quarters and call a truce.

“I’ve sometimes thought the two of them could come to blows,” said Mills, citing a handshake on Turban Day at the legislature in 2023 that Khan alleged was a physical assault.

The political expert said the Speaker shouldn’t ban words in the chamber.

“Debate should be be as free as possible. It’s why we sent them to legislatures so that, somehow, candid views can be expressed,” Mills said. “However, one expects in expressing these views, people are civil — so much of parliamentary debate does rest upon reasonable respect for each other.”

That’s lacking in Manitoba, Mills said. “I don’t know whether it’s both sides feel they have some kind of political advantage in keeping the pot boiling? Maybe they’re not very civil, sensible politicians themselves?”

“The dislike and disrespect between Mr. Kinew and Mr. Khan is on display daily. It becomes a depressing spectacle.”

The Speaker could cut the amount of “clickbait” members can generate during question period, said another political expert.

“To reinforce the message that rudeness and aggressive language will not be tolerated, the Speaker might go further by indicating that serial offenders will not be recognized for three days in QP, which is increasingly used to generate legacy media coverage and social media clickbait,” said Paul Thomas, political studies professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba.

It might be too late for a meeting between the leaders, he said.

“The dislike and disrespect between Mr. Kinew and Mr. Khan is on display daily. It becomes a depressing spectacle,” said Thomas.

The only way to civilize the debate is for both sides to decide “this is a really bad advertisement for politics and there’s no advantage in continuing this kind of rhetoric,” Mills said.

“You don’t want to feel you’re the object of opprobrium among politicians and the media and opinion-makers throughout the country,” Mills said.

“Which is why I think someone like Kinew might want to see there’s an interest in his lowering the heat. If there is this view in the country that Manitoba is Hicksville in terms of political debate, this sits at door of the premier.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

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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.