Kinew’s optimistic message embraced by business community

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This article was published 07/12/2023 (702 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Wab Kinew delivered an optimistic pep talk to the business community just two days after telling Manitobans his NDP government inherited $1.6-billion deficit “mess.”

“There is something exciting happening in Manitoba these days,” he told the 1,250 attendees to the annual Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce “state of the province” luncheon.

He kicked off his 25-minute address by congratulating the newly elected grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Manitoba regional chief Cindy Woodhouse.

“I think it’s amazing that we have a great leader on the national stage,” Kinew said.

The address, which was delivered without notes, was, for the most part, a positive pep-talk that highlighted how far the province has come in terms of reconciliation and his optimism for the future.

Kinew talked about a more recent shift in how Manitoba is seen by the national media, and about taking a visiting reporter from Toronto on a brief tour after he was elected the first First Nations premier of a province. He pointed out to her Kelvin High School where his children attend, and a former Indian Residential School nearby on Academy Road that was open until 50 years ago.

“This is the story of Manitoba. That’s where we were a generation ago: some kids were over here, other kids were over there.”

That racial divide is gone, he said.

“Where we are today in this province is here at places like Kelvin, where all of the kids are together — working together, learning together, playing together — starting their lives in a good way together,” Kinew said, drawing a round of applause. “I am extraordinarily proud of the province and the progress we’re making together.”

The premier reminded the audience that just eight years ago, the cover of Maclean’s magazine said “Canada has a bigger race problem than America and it’s ugliest in Winnipeg.”

“It was a story that hurt a lot of people here,” Kinew said. “It affected me on a personal level. Not only were they singling us out and putting us down on the national stage but they were also making a judgment about us from on high in Eastern Canada.” Not anymore, he said.

“Answer me this: what’s the story they’re writing about Manitoba today in 2023?”

Manitobans flipped the script on Oct. 3, he said.

“What you as the people of Manitoba did was to reject wedge politics, was to reject division,” he said, referring to a “bruising” election campaign by the Tories that critics described as callous and divisive.

“Across North America, wedge politics are used in every single election and it seems like every single time the wedge issues win out,” the premier said.

“Not only did you reject division, you embraced a message of unity — that we are one people, one province and we have one future that we are going to work on together,” Kinew said. “I’m so extraordinarily proud of this story.”

He repeated his “economic horse pulls the social cart” metaphor as he announced the creation of a premier’s business and jobs council to provide advice on developing a strong and sustainable economy.

“The members of this council bring with them a range of experiences from different regions and sectors of our province,” he said.

Ash Modha, chief executive officer of Mondetta Clothing, and Kevin Rebeck, president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour, will co-chair the council, which includes nearly three dozen high-profile members of the biz community.

Modha and Rebeck were members of Kinew’s transition team after the NDP was elected in October.

The council’s work will build on the priorities Manitobans have shared with the government by strengthening the province’s low-carbon, diverse economy while creating family-supporting jobs, the premier said.

Kinew’s upbeat tone echoed that of Mayor Scott Gillingham’s inaugural state of the city address in March, said Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Loren Remillard.

Combined with the federal government working with civic and provincial partners, Thursday’s talk of collaboration by the premier was a refreshing tonic for the business crowd that hasn’t seen an alignment of all three levels of government in decades, he said.

“We’re seeing governments working together as opposed to squabble in a public way that does nothing for residents,” Remillard said after Kinew’s speech.

Relations between former premier Brian Pallister and former mayor Brian Bowman were so poor the pair didn’t meet in person for more than a year.

“There’s a reason why 1,250 business people packed into this room. (It’s) because they want to get behind an optimistic vision of our province,” said Remillard, a member of the premier’s business and jobs council.

“They’re the ones investing in that optimism. Today I think people walked away feeling their investment’s going to see that return.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca