Manitoba chequebook changes hands in cabinet shuffle By: Dan Lett Posted: 3:41 PM CST Monday, Jan. 30, 2023

Opinion

It’s Premier Heather Stefanson cabinet, but it may go down as Cameron Friesen’s shuffle.

The besieged Manitoba premier announced cabinet moves Monday, intended to fill holes created by MLAs that had previously announced their intention to retire from politics before this fall’s general election.

As of Jan. 26, 10 Tories had indicated they would not be seeking re-election, several of them long-serving cabinet ministers. On Jan. 27, one more added his name to the list: finance minister Cameron Friesen.

Suddenly, and without warning to most in the premier’s inner circle, Friesen was announcing his intention to seek a federal nomination in Portage—Lisgar.

The cabinet shuffle had just been reshuffled.

For a first minister desperately seeking to erase a deep deficit in public support, it was a political low blow — a blind-side hit that appears to have been designed by Friesen to embarrass the premier and leave her without a steady hand on the finance portfolio in the weeks leading up to the next provincial budget.

The biggest immediate impact is likely Stefanson’s decision to retain two veteran MLAs (Cliff Cullen and Eileen Clarke) who have indicated they are not running in the next election. Cullen takes over finance; Clarke takes over Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations.

Did Stefanson have other options? With retiring MLAs out of the equation, the premier was already recruiting cabinet talent from a diminished pool.

There is little doubt Cullen and Clarke are among the more competent ministers in her government, but it’s still a huge risk, with — it should be noted — a huge potential return.

Stefanson needs the budget to be a real winner, something that will somehow convince voters she has somehow overcome the last five years of Tory austerity and dysfunction and returned some competency to government. You can see how high the stakes are by the size of pre-budget spending plans.

Stefanson needs the budget to be a real winner, something that will somehow convince voters she has somehow overcome the last five years of Tory austerity and dysfunction and returned some competency to government.

Last week, the premier unveiled a $850-million plan for the current fiscal year to shore up health care and municipal infrastructure, and provide $200 million in direct cash payments to Manitobans to subsidize “the rising costs of living.”

It’s a sign the Stefanson government, flush from a huge surge in own-source revenues, will use the next budget to buy back some love before the polls open.

Ironically, that’s where Friesen’s departure may end up becoming more of a help than a hindrance.

It could be a coincidence Friesen announced his intention to leave provincial politics the same day Stefanson unveiled her $850-million spending plan. However, the timing plays into a growing narrative about a rift between Stefanson and her finance minister that was threatening to derail key policies.

Government and party sources say Friesen was not a fan of the $200-million health-care human resource plan (first unveiled in November; included in the $850 million) Stefanson and Health Minister Audrey Gordon claimed will add up to 2,000 professionals to the provincial system.

However, since it was unveiled more than two months ago, very little — bordering on nothing — has been done.

How could it be a government that has so little credibility with Manitoba on health care has done so little since making a big splashy announcement? If you believe government and party sources, it was due to Friesen’s refusal to green-light the spending.

How could it be a government that has so little credibility with Manitoba on health care has done so little since making a big splashy announcement?

That has left Manitoba in worse shape — not better — than when the announcement was first made. Provinces to the west and east have unleashed lucrative incentive programs to lure doctors and nurses from Manitoba. In response, the PC government has offered little more than hyperbole about supporting health-care professionals.

Traditionally, finance ministers serve as the last check and balance on a premier’s decision making capabilities.

In this instance, however, the relationship between Friesen and Stefanson had reportedly become so dysfunctional the former’s departure from provincial politics has some significant upside for the latter.

The bigger question hanging over Stefanson and her new cabinet is whether they can produce a budget worthy of a seismic shift in voting intentions.

The PC government is expected to table its 2023-24 budget sometime in March or early April. Suddenly, there has been a cabinet shuffle and the man who was the tip of the spear in budget preparation is out of cabinet.

Cullen is an experienced and trusted minister, but asking him to pick up the baton at this late stage may be asking too much.

Friesen’s departure was an initial setback, of this there is no doubt. It expressed a lack of confidence in a first minister still learning how to lead government. It absolutely impacted the cabinet shuffle

However, if the premier’s new-found penchant for spending freely is successful at buying back some support, Friesen’s departure may turn out to be the stroke of good fortune the Tories were waiting for.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Dan Lett
Columnist

Born and raised in and around Toronto, Dan Lett came to Winnipeg in 1986, less than a year out of journalism school with a lifelong dream to be a newspaper reporter.

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