Winnipeg South Centre byelection a 48-horse race Late cabinet minister Carr’s son among recognizable names on bloated ballot with 42 ‘independent’ election-reform activists’ names on it By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 4:20 PM CDT Friday, Jun. 16, 2023

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This article was published 16/06/2023 (1180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Candidates in the crowded, 48-way contest for Winnipeg South Centre are staking their campaigns on fixing health care, cutting taxes and tackling climate change in a bid to spoil a Liberal dynasty in the making.

A byelection to fill former Liberal MP Jim Carr’s seat will be held June 19; the longtime politician, former cabinet minister and community leader died Dec. 12 at the age of 71 after a battle with blood cancer and kidney failure. He represented the area since 2015.

The late statesman’s son Ben agreed to let his name stand for the Liberals following weeks of reflection and an earlier-than-anticipated thrust into federal politics following his father’s death last year.

However, the 36-year-old former Maples Met School principal and current vice-president at Indigenous Strategy Alliance said he’s not feeling any pressure to carry on his father’s work; his focus remains on giving back to his community.

“I’m running on a track record that is my own and one that I’m very proud of,” the River Heights local said. “I’ve had a chance, very fortunate in my life, to give back to my community in the capacity as an educator, as a volunteer or working in a variety of other spaces.

“My father’s memory and the values that he instilled in me and the lessons that I learned from him are, of course, part of the very fabric that makes up who I am as an individual, but my decision to give back to community is about the ways in which I feel I can continue to make a difference,” he said.

”I’m running on a track record that is my own and one that I’m very proud of.”–Ben Carr

Carr led the Maples Met School — a facility that offers students personalized lessons, advisory groups and internships — for three years before moving on to the Indigenous Strategy Alliance, where he works directly with First Nations communities to build organizational capacity, access funding and to facilitate consultation with governments.

While door-knocking in the riding last week, Carr did not shy away from voters who expressed their frustrations with the state of health care and least one neighbour who shared a disenchantment with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“There’s no doubt that there are challenges and there are concerns on the minds of people,” Carr said. “I’m feeling optimistic about the things that we can continue to do as a federal government to help make life better for people.”

The self-described neighbourhood kid said the byelection comes at point where Canada is experiencing “massive shifts” with respect to climate change, polarized public discourse, an aging population, strained health-care systems and the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People here are well-informed, they’re engaged, they’re curious, they’re interested and it matters to them who is going to represent them in Ottawa,” Carr said. “We’re providing a perspective as Liberals and worldview that I think a lot of people see themselves reflected in.”

Nearly four dozen other candidates are also in the running for the seat, which has been held by Liberals — including Lloyd Axworthy and current Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville — almost exclusively since 1988. Former Conservative Party of Canada MP Joyce Bateman represented the area for one term between 2011 and 2015.

About 95,000 people live in the riding bordered by the Assiniboine River to the north, the Red River to the east, Shaftesbury Boulevard and McCreary Road to the west, and McGillivray Boulevard and Abinojii Mikanah (formerly Bishop Grandin Boulevard) to the south.

According to Elections Canada, the average constituent is 43 years old and earns $63,850 annually (based on the 2021 census). Voter turnout in the last general election was 70 per cent, and just under 70,000 people are on the voters list.

A throng of 42 independent candidates is running in the riding, including activists with a group pushing for an end to the country’s first-past-the-post electoral system. The federal Liberals had promised to pursue electoral reform prior to being elected in 2015 but the Trudeau government abandoned the idea.

The Longest Ballot Committee has faced criticisms for creating barriers to political participation by flooding the ballot with candidates from outside the riding, but maintains its purpose is to make a statement about the current electoral system.

And in a byelection where residents may feel their vote will not count, New Democratic Party candidate Dr. Julia Riddell said the challenges faced by Manitobans and Canadians are too great to refrain from casting a ballot.

“Politics is about people’s lives, and when we know people are going bankrupt, or are getting evicted, or experiencing homelessness or addiction — people’s lives are at stake,” Riddell said. “When you add all of that together, I feel extremely concerned about the future.”

Riddell, 34, previously ran for the NDP in 2021 and received 10,064 votes, or about 20.6 per cent.

The front-line clinical psychologist and University of Manitoba assistant professor said her experience in the health system and the multiple barriers to mental-health care and addictions services spurred her to run for public office.

“I love being a psychologist. I would be very happy being psychologist for the rest of my life,” Riddell said. “I think being an MP is an extremely difficult job. I just couldn’t stand by anymore and see the issues in health care and not do more, not speak up.”

Quality mental-health care, the overdose crisis, homelessness, poverty and climate change are among her chief concerns.

“It really breaks my heart to see how many people are struggling here in Winnipeg South Centre and I know that we can be doing more the help people who are struggling,” the Earl Grey resident said.

Riddell acknowledged health care, housing and addictions services are primarily areas of provincial jurisdiction, but noted the federal Liberal government has forced the provinces to target spending in high-needs areas through the Canada Health Transfer.

The NDP has also made strides with respect to dental-care coverage and is pushing the minority government to adopt universal coverage for prescription drugs under its confidence and supply agreement, she said.

“My concern is that without our agreement with the Liberals they wouldn’t have done those things,” she said. “The NDP historically, and currently, is fighting really hard for lowering the cost of living and supporting people with health care.”

”I just couldn’t stand by anymore and see the issues in health care and not do more, not speak up.”–Julia Riddell

Since she began door-knocking in March, Riddell said constituents have voiced concerns about health care, the cost of living and housing.

“We have been an affordable place to live for a long time and people are very concerned that that is no longer the case,” she said.

Also on the ballot is Conservative Party of Canada candidate Damir Stipanovic, Green Party of Canada candidate Doug Hemmerling, People’s Party of Canada candidate Tylor Baer, and Rhinoceros Party candidate Sebastien Corhino.

Stipanovic’s campaign manager Peter Smith declined on behalf of his candidate to participate in this article, saying Stipanovic was “fully engaged meeting voters until Election Day.”

The rookie politician resides in River Heights with his wife and three kids. He is a retired air traffic controller and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve in the same capacity. His campaign to date has featured pledges to lower taxes, fight inflation and get tough on crime.

Another familiar name on the ballot is Hemmerling, who also ran to represent Winnipeg South Centre in 2021, earning 2.7 per cent of the vote, or 1,341 ballots in his favour.

The 54-year-old teacher and guidance counsellor said the acceleration of the climate crisis and what he described as a lack of “focused attention” by Ottawa on the file motivated him to run for office.

“The time is now for action,” said Hemmerling, a father of five who lives in Crescentwood. “We need to be more responsive in terms of our laws, our regulations, our spending as it pertains to the current climate crisis that’s before us.”

Hemmerling said Ottawa must take a leadership role and cannot leave it up to provincial governments to set policy direction related to climate change.

“The Green Party is certainly aware of all the issues that are going on in Winnipeg South Centre, including homelessness and poverty, but unless we’re addressing climate change as a bigger issue, as a bigger priority — and I think Winnipeg South Centre constituents get that — we’re heading down a very dangerous road here,” he said.

The next representative for the riding must make it a priority, he said.

”My chances increase, unfortunately, as things get worse with our climate.”–Doug Hemmerling

“For me, my chances increase, unfortunately, as things get worse with our climate,” Hemmerling said. “It’s holding the government accountable, and if I’m in power, it’s pushing that agenda that climate is the No. 1 issue facing our society.”

According to Elections Canada, approximately 9,172 people cast ballots at advance polls between June 9 and 12.

Polls close on June 19 at 8:30 p.m. and the agency is warning results may take longer to report, owing to the lengthy ballot.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca