Polls close in Manitoba

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This article was published 03/10/2023 (748 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Polls have closed in Manitoba and the ballots are now being counted in an election dominated by promises about health care, tax cuts and no shortage of negative ads.

Data from polls and surveys over the latter half of the campaign strong suggested the governing Tories under Premier Heather Stefanson face long odds to win a third straight mandate. Those same polls hint that history could be made later tonight as an NDP victory would make Wab Kinew the country’s first First Nations premier.

The campaign, which officially began on Sept. 5, is the first time Manitoba is using electronic vote-counting machines.

The polls opened at 8 a.m. and remained open until 8 p.m. Elections Manitoba said 200,790 people cast ballots in advanced voting.

Elections Manitoba spokesman Jack Rach said power outages caused some issues with vote-counting machines on Tuesday.

“This is something we have prepared for and why we continue to use paper ballots,” Rach said.

Chris Gama, 41, waited for the rain to briefly pass over central Winnipeg while finishing breakfast with his eight-year-old son Arlo before the pair walked to a Wolseley polling station at Laura Secord School near their home at about 10 a.m.

“Super easy. Probably the easiest process I’ve ever experienced — usually, it’s a little busier,” Gama said of voting, adding he thinks he has voted in every election he’s been eligible for since turning 18.

“They’ve got the new little electronic (machine) now, where your vote slides right in there — I thought that was pretty cool.”

Gama said he cast his ballot for the constituency’s incumbent New Democratic Party candidate, Lisa Naylor. Gama said she has done a good job representing the area and the NDP represent his views.

Gama planned to explain the voting process, and who he cast his ballot for, to his son.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Winnipeg, with warnings and watches also issued elsewhere throughout southeastern Manitoba. Possible large hail and heavy wind gusts were expected.

The weather agency said conditions were favourable for a line of severe thunderstorms through the morning, stemming from a low-pressure system that moved north from North Dakota.

Pamela Achurch, 58, said she was planning to grab an umbrella to head out the door to the school’s polling station, but the rain died off.

“I’m feeling good about it. We’ll see what happens,” she said.

Achurch works in health care and has seen huge delays and problems in the system, she said, and planned to vote for the NDP.

“It has severely affected peoples’ lives, and I’m not totally blaming the government, there’s been COVID-19… there’s lots of factors in there,” she said, adding she sits on the board of the Manitoba Nurses Union.

“In 35 years of nursing in Manitoba, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it, by far.”

Achurch said she is not a strict partisan voter and has voted for other political parties in the past.

Krystal Thorington said she was glad the rain stopped briefly and the sun came out when she went to cast her ballot.

She said she is hoping for a “great outcome” in today’s election.

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NDP Leader Wab Kinew made a final election campaign appearance at St. Boniface candidate Robert Loiselle’s campaign office on Marion Street shortly before 1 p.m., where he shook hands with Loiselle and volunteers in front of journalists.

“I voted in the first day of advance,” he said.

Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson and Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont did not announce any election day appearances. A PC party spokesman said Monday that Stefanson planned to vote with family Tuesday.

The Green party candidate for Steinbach withdrew from Tuesday’s election, which Elections Manitoba announced shortly before the polls opened Tuesday morning. Any votes cast for Gabrielle Simard-Nadeau during advance voting or on Tuesday will be counted as rejected.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.