NDP interim leader expected in time for new legislature session

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This article was published 25/04/2016 (3670 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The NDP hopes to have an interim leader in place by the time Brian Pallister’s Progressive Conservatives call a new session of the legislature.

The PCs have yet to announce when the first session of the 41st Manitoba legislature will begin. Pallister’s cabinet will be sworn in on May 3 and PC caucus members will be sworn in on May 11, the PCs have announced.

NDP caucus chair Matt Wiebe (Concordia) said his party wants an interim leader in place by the time the legislature convenes.

“We’re going to come up with a recommendation (in caucus) of somebody that will fit that bill. But ultimately (the decision will be made) in concert with the (party) executive,” he said Monday following the NDP’s first caucus meeting since the election.

The NDP now has 14 elected members, down drastically from the 37 elected in the 2011 election.

Outgoing premier Greg Selinger, who announced on election night that he would step down as leader, declined to comment after the meeting, referring a reporter to Wiebe.

“It was a really positive meeting. Good group of people. Some fresh faces,” said Wiebe. Three of the NDP MLAs are new: Tom Lindsey (Flin Flon), Wab Kinew (Fort Rouge) and Nahanni Fontaine (St. Johns).

Wiebe said he expects the caucus will forward a recommendation for interim leader to the party’s executive and that the matter will then be dealt with by the party’s provincial council, a larger group that has the final word on party policy between annual conventions.

While there’s no formal deadline for naming an interim leader, it’s expected the NDP provincial council will be in a position to approve the nominee when it meets May 7, a party official confirmed Monday.

Premier-designate Pallister announced the appointments of four senior staffers Monday who will play key roles in his government. They include chief of staff Philip Houde, principal secretary Jonathan Scarth, communications director Olivia Baldwin-Vilainis and director of issues management James White.

Meanwhile, government ministers continued to pack up their offices on Monday.

Drew Caldwell (Brandon East), an MLA since the NDP took power in 1999, said he has a lot of great memories of the Legislative Building.

Caldwell recalled that the first time he was in the education minister’s office was as a student protester during the Sterling Lyon years (1977-1981). Security escorted him out.

The next time he ventured inside that office it was as the newly sworn-in minister of education in 1999.

Caldwell, 56, leaves government as the minister responsible for municipal government. He also served for a time as family services minister.

“It’s a great building,” he said Monday, surrounded by packing boxes filled with photos and other keepsakes.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca