MP’s daughter eyes Burrows

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/04/2016 (3487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Let’s be clear: Cindy Lamoureux is the Liberal candidate in Burrows, not her dad, Kevin. He’s the Liberal MP for Winnipeg North.

But Lamoureux definitely sees them as a team, a potential dynasty and her “in” to the Ottawa connections she says she’ll tap to help the provincial riding.

Kevin Lamoureux is working hard for his daughter, and with the election machine he’s brought to federal politics has made her a formidable foe in an NDP stronghold.

“I probably am in the only riding where the federal Liberals are supporting the provincial Liberals,” acknowledged NDP incumbent Melanie Wight, the minister of child and youth opportunities.

The NDP has been accustomed to whopping majorities in the northwest riding, one of Manitoba’s poorest. One-quarter of the homes are single-parent, and one in three families speaks neither English nor French as a first language.

Jobs matter in Burrows, and the New Democrats have delivered, said Wight. “Many of our folks work in the health-care field, child care, personal care homes.”

Wight admitted the NDP blundered in how it raised the provincial sales tax to eight per cent, but says people at the door accept her explanation of why they did it. “Of course, people were mad. We did a very poor job of explaining it” initially, but now people understand, she said.

Wight said people are fond of the Lamoureuxs, but that doesn’t mean they like the provincial Liberals and Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari’s policies.

“They’re horrified at the prospect of privatizing liquor and lotteries,” she said.

“They can’t believe it’s true, giving well-off women a tax break on a $50 haircut. You’re taking it from somewhere else, an area of real need,” she said, adding the Conservative platform consists of telling voters to hate the NDP.

Lamoureux said the issues she hears at the door are crime and safety, child care and immigration, not all of which are primarily a provincial responsibility.

That’s where she’s connected to Ottawa and Manitoba’s Liberal MPs, said Lamoureux. “I’m on a first-name basis with all of them, and I have four of their cellphone numbers. I hope I’ll be able to work collectively with my father.

“I wanted to be a politician before I knew what it meant. I’m sure my dad feels obligated — I canvassed with him for 78 days straight” in the federal election. “It was a great way to get to know people.”

Lamoureux works for a non-profit placing seniors in the appropriate level of housing and care. She’s 24 — but said her father was three months younger the first time he was elected provincially.

The Liberals are hoping Kevin Lamoureux’s influence helps some other northwest candidates such as Aida Champagne in the Tyndall Park riding; Cindy Lamoureux is their big hope.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“I would say she’s got a shot at it,” said Christopher Adams, a political scientist at St. Paul’s College.

Rae Wagner is running for the Tories, Garrett Bodnaryk for the Greens and Tony Petrowski for the Communists.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Nick Martin

Former Free Press reporter Nick Martin, who wrote the monthly suspense column in the books section and was prolific in his standalone reviews of mystery/thriller novels, died Oct. 15 at age 77 while on holiday in Edinburgh, Scotland.