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It was a clever bit of politics, which no doubt helped make Premier Wab Kinew the toast of the town in Gimli – and among fans of Crown Royal.
Faced with threats from Ontario Premier Doug Ford to pull the whiskey mashed, distilled and aged in the Interlake community, the NDP Leader mounted a spirited campaign to beat back the boycott.
“I’m not quick to try to escalate a trade war within Canada and that’s why I want to appeal to my buddy Doug, who I know is a good guy, to do the right thing here and ensure that we’re supporting Canadian jobs in every region,” Kinew told reporters in January after signing a barrel outside the Diageo Crown Royal distillery.
Kinew would take another shot later that month via a video that further made his point by poking some fun at Ford who had emptied a bottle of Crown in protest.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… don’t waste that — that’s the good stuff,” a smiling Kinew said in the video, before raising the glass to the camera.
“That’s Canadian whisky supporting good-paying Canadian jobs right here in Gimli, Manitoba. So, what do you say, Premier Ford? I think it tastes better when we work together as part of Team Canada.”
Let the record show that Kinew got the job done, potentially saving 76 jobs at the Gimli plant.
But would Kinew do likewise to save 76 media jobs in this province?
Would he argue for a Team Canada approach to protect the jobs of those who covered his news conferences and social media stunts that helped make the case to keep Crown Royal on Ontario liquor store shelves?
I’m asking that question tonight because the sector that reports on Kinew and Ford et al. is one that is consistently overlooked as it quietly hemorrhages.
“Canadian policymakers often focus on natural resources, telecommunications, and automotive manufacturing when talking about the country’s economic pillars. However, there is another major industry that employs more people than some of these sectors, even as it steadily loses money,” writes Sarah Thompson of Canadian Media Means Business.
Thompson’s math shows there are 137,600 direct jobs in the media sector, more than auto manufacturing, telecommunications, and almost 40 percent more than mining.
But those jobs are anything but safe, especially since 74 cents of every advertising dollar now leaves the Canadian media industry bound for U.S. digital giants. She notes that in the past year, the industry lost 1,000 jobs — 600 journalists and 400 editors.
“This situation brings up an important policy question about how Canada supports its industries. Since 2020, the government has given about $5 billion to the auto industry. In comparison, federal support for media and advertising was just over $2.1 billion in 2024. While Canada strongly supports traditional manufacturing, its biggest information employer is left to handle a tough digital transition with much less help.”
One final question tonight: If there had been no reporters to cover Kinew’s photo-ops, social media stunts and soundbites, would those jobs have been saved in Gimli?
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