Kinew interview: ‘message of unity and a message that faces the future’

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This article was published 29/08/2023 (739 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“How do you do? I’m Wab Kinew.”

It’s a rhyme the New Democratic Party of Manitoba leader has used repeatedly to introduce himself to cameras at a barrage of pre-election campaign announcements over the past three weeks.

“I’m a big fan of dad jokes,” says the 41-year-old Fort Rouge MLA.

“It’s something you say to put a smile on people’s faces and occasionally make people groan, but it’s important to find ways to connect with people.”

The folksy, well-worn introduction has become a hallmark of the early and aggressive attempts by Kinew and the NDP to get a leg up on the competition before the provincial election contest begins in earnest; the Oct. 3 election is expected to be called next week.

After spending over two years ahead of the governing Progressive Conservatives in public opinion polls, a Free Press-Probe Research Inc. poll from June showed the NDP and the Tories tied for support at 41 per cent.

The NDP has wasted no time trying to regain the lost ground. Since Aug. 8, Kinew has been on the hustings to make more than a dozen campaign commitments and take swipes at the Tory government, following a deluge of government spending announcements in July.

By comparison, the Tories have so far offered up two campaign promises in the pre-election period: to fight the federal carbon tax and strengthen parental rights.

Manitoba Liberals have also started to slowly unroll their platform, making a handful of pledges to voters.

“We’re running a campaign to try and let Manitobans know we’re on their side and that we’re going to implement a program in government, if we get the chance to serve, that will help make their lives better, and we want to work together,” says Kinew, who offered to sit down for a one-on-one interview with the Free Press ahead of the writ drop.

Interviews with PC Leader Heather Stefanson and Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont have also been requested.

“We’re running a 55-day, 56-day campaign because we think we need that time to be able to share our plan with Manitobans.”–NDP Leader Wab Kinew

“So, we’re running a 55-day, 56-day campaign because we think we need that time to be able to share our plan with Manitobans,” Kinew says when asked about his early start on the campaign trail.

The NDP has already released several major platform commitments, including reopening three Winnipeg hospital emergency departments, giving Manitobans a gas tax holiday, and freezing Manitoba Hydro electricity rates for one year.

Kinew says he’s not concerned early campaign promises will be lost in the summer haze, when most people are more concerned with the “last long weekend of summer than they are about politicians.”

Voters can continue to expect daily commitments on health care, jobs, cost of living, and the economy throughout September, he says.

“Manitobans rightly want to hear what we would do if we do form the next government, so we wanted to get out early and talk about some of these things,” Kinew says. “At the same time, I think we’ve struck the right balance where we’re going to have more to share during the election period, as well.”

Staffing the health-care system, moving forward cutting the gas tax and maintaining the provincial government’s course to a balanced budget are the top priorities, if elected, Kinew says.

“Those are going to be the steps that we take right out of the gate.”

In this contest, Kinew says he’s equally interested in hearing from people who are optimistic about Manitoba’s future and want meaningful improvements made to health care — which the NDP has made front and centre in its platform — and from disenchanted conservative supporters who are frustrated with the province’s current trajectory, including those who call for their “freedoms back.”

“Measures like the gas tax and the hydro rate freeze are affordability and pocketbook measures, but in some ways, it is about returning freedom to people — so that they feel like they have more freedom about what they’re going to do with their lives.”–Wab Kinew

“A lot of people might have a certain idea in mind when they hear a statement like that,” he says, recalling a recent conversation with a person who lamented a loss of freedoms and felt spread thin by taxation.

“We have to find a way to speak to people like that, too,” Kinew says. “Measures like the gas tax and the hydro rate freeze are affordability and pocketbook measures, but in some ways, it is about returning freedom to people — so that they feel like they have more freedom about what they’re going to do with their lives.”

Kinew has also attempted to brand himself as tough on crime over the past month, while countering political attacks highlighting past criminal convictions. The father of three had a record of assaulting a taxi driver, refusing a breathalyzer, and breaching court orders.

He was granted a pardon in 2016.

He also faced charges of domestic assault in 2003, and one count of theft under $5,000 in 2006.

Both those charges were stayed.

In a recent speech to supporters, he accused the PCs of mounting a campaign that links crime to his leadership, in part, because he is Indigenous.

The Tories have repeatedly rejected accusations race is behind party messaging that crime will worsen if Kinew becomes premier, noting the NDP leader’s run-ins with the law are public record and fair game.

While the attacks have an impact on his family, Kinew says the advertisements have also spurred conversation among his teenage sons and their friends that bolsters his belief the message is not one that resonates with Manitobans.

“The appeals that the PCs are making are not consistent with who Manitobans are today, and I’ve seen evidence of that throughout my time in politics,” he says.

“And while they may be placing large financial bets… that they can divide Manitobans, I think Manitobans are sick of this government and they want a message of unity and a message that faces the future.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca