Tories go all-in at election poker table: attack ad deals cards with insults, accusations about NDP candidates

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This article was published 27/09/2023 (749 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives are making a last-ditch wager on a playing card-style attack ad urging voters to do exactly the opposite at the ballot box Tuesday.

The “Don’t gamble on the NDP” ad shows “the PCs are clearly on the defensive,” and are pulling out this American-born tactic they’ve had in reserve, said Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

“This has been held back till now,” Thomas said, referring to both a full-page Tory ad in Wednesday’s Free Press and a website paid for by the party that features photos of NDP Leader Wab Kinew and some NDP candidates as “wild cards” and makes personal accusations against them.

The ad “distorts and sensationalizes” information about candidates, and that kind of character assassination can backfire with voters, Thomas said, describing the risk of a “disgust response.”

But research shows attack ads can have an impact on voters, particularly those who haven’t been closely following an election campaign. They’re meant to capture the attention of undecided voters, as well as appeal to the loyal Tory base.

“They’re more memorable than a serious ad,” Thomas said.

The latest ads come just five days after the PCs released an ad taking pride in Premier Heather Stefanson’s “tough decision” not to search a city-area landfill for human remains of missing Indigenous women believed to be victims of a serial killer.

Kinew said his opponents are using dishonourable tactics “in their desperation,” and urged Manitobans to vote against that style of politics.

“I’m pleased that the PCs are now attacking me instead of trans kids or women in the landfill. I signed up for this, I knew what I was getting into. Trans children and the families of the (alleged) murder victims did not sign up for this,” Kinew said following an unrelated news conference Wednesday.

“What I would say to Heather Stefanson is, ‘You called this election, so come and campaign on the issues that Manitobans want to hear about — like health care, like affordability’,” Kinew said following an unrelated news conference Wednesday.

The cards in the NDP’s “bad hand” reference past criminal charges faced, and disclosed, by Kinew (the “joker”) and Thompson candidate Eric Redhead (a “wild card”). It frames Union Station candidate Uzoma Asagwara’s participation in a Black Lives Matter march as speaking at a “defund the police” rally and shapes Point Douglas candidate Bernadette Smith’s support of supervised drug-consumption sites as “(wanting) to give away hard drugs just like the NDP in B.C.”

Kinew received pardons for impaired-driving and assault convictions in 2003 and 2004. He also faced two charges after an ex-girlfriend accused him of assault — which he has denied — that were stayed by the Crown. Redhead received an absolute discharge for a 2006 charge of common assault.

The ad repeats a party line attacking Fort Garry candidate Mark Wasyliw for working as a criminal defence lawyer, saying he “defends sex offenders and drug dealers in court.”

For the second time since March, the Manitoba Bar Association denounced the attacks on Wasyliw and stood up for the legal profession.

“Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the right to legal representation. These attacks must stop,” Manitoba Bar Association president Jason Gisser stated in a news release.

The PC party defended the ad Wednesday.

“Manitobans deserve to know the truth about Wab Kinew and the team he’s proposing lead this province,” spokesman Shannon Martin told the Free Press in an emailed statement.

If the NDP isn’t going to be honest, Manitobans have every right to question their credibility, their leadership, and their transparency.”

An image not published in the newspaper ad but included on the PC’s “Wab Way” website accuses Kirkfield Park candidate Logan Oxenham of joking about child rape and pedophilia. When asked about the accusation, Kinew said “Oxenham is a good person and they would serve the people of Kirkfield Park well, and I’m sure that they would articulate their regrets for things that they may have said in the past.”

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont described the attack ads as disgusting and bad for democracy.

“It’s embarrassing to see people who want to be in government treat other Manitobans like this,” Lamont said. “We are all Manitobans at the end of the day, and if you’re going to treat other Manitobans like this, what does this say about how you’re going to treat people in government?”

Earlier in the day, Kirkfield Park Tory candidate Kevin Klein — who said he hadn’t seen the attack ad — defended his party’s decision to use the premier’s refusal to search the landfill in the campaign.

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“(Stefanson) has held steadfast on that. She felt it was very important to be clear and transparent on our stance on that,” he said. “We are seeing all parties make this a divisive issue, and it shouldn’t be that.”

Klein spoke from his campaign office on Portage Avenue, where a crowd of protesters — including Jorden Myran, whose sister Marcedes Myran is believed to be among those buried in the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg — gathered with drums, demanding searches for victims.

“I didn’t anticipate (the protest), but I understand,” he said. ” I believe we live in a country where peaceful protests are allowed, so I am not upset by it.”

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Katie May
Multimedia producer

Katie May is a multimedia producer for the Free Press.

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Tyler Searle
Reporter

Since joining the paper in 2022, Tyler has found himself driving through blizzards, documenting protests and scouring the undersides of bridges for potential stories.

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