Brian Pallister drops yet another hint of an early election call

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This article was published 29/03/2019 (2437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For months, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has left the door ajar on the possibility of calling an early election.

On Friday, he seemed to blow the door wide open, if not off its hinges.

During a Manitoba 150 kickoff celebration at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre in downtown Winnipeg, Pallister said he’d heard from “a lot of Manitobans” of various political stripes, who said they didn’t want the sesquicentennial marred by politicking.

“I’ve heard from Manitobans already that they would prefer that 2020 be the year that we celebrate something other than politics — that we celebrate something that unites us and doesn’t necessarily divide us,” the premier told reporters.

The next fixed election date is Oct. 6, 2020.

“I think it’s a great idea to put our province ahead of politics, and I think that’s why of, course, we’ve extended this invitation today to everybody from all the political parties,” the premier said of the 150th celebrations.

“There’s no reason to have partisanship interfere with a great party for our province.”

With election speculation — or “spec-election” as Pallister prefers to call it — in full swing, Manitoba’s three main political parties are claiming to be ready, whenever the writ may drop.

Party officials remained fairly tight-lipped in interviews Friday when talking about how candidate nomination processes, fundraising and strategizing are advancing.

“We’re ready whenever it’s called, or we will be ready whenever it’s called,” said Ellen Olfert, co-chairwoman of the NDP election preparation committee.

Olfert said her personal goal is to have NDP candidates nominated in all 57 ridings by the end of May. So far, there are two: incumbent Jim Maloway in Elmwood and former Brandon city councillor Lonnie Patterson in Brandon East.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said his party is on its way to recruiting a full slate, with around 35 to 40 people expressing interest in running under the banner so far.

The four Liberal incumbents have nomination meetings in their respective ridings set for April, except for Burrows MLA Cindy Lamoureux, who will now be running in Tyndall Park.

Lamont said his party’s election platform will be have “a strong green focus” and keep economic growth and investments top of mind. Without naming names, he alleged certain NDP members are flirting with the possibility of running as Liberals and some typical Progressive Conservative donors are looking to back the Grits.

“I never count anything until the cheque clears, but we have a number of people who are very interested,” Lamont said. “There are people who are very frustrated with Pallister.”

It should be more clear next week how well the political parties are doing financially. The deadline for submitting annual returns to Elections Manitoba is Monday.

It’s widely believed the PCs are far ahead of their competitors, although party chief executive officer Keith Stewart would not speculate as such in an interview.

The Progressive Conservatives have nominated 27 candidates, most of them incumbents except Audrey Gordon, who is running in Southdale, and Nancy Cooke, the candidate for Fort Garry.

“We’re preparing now to be ready when we need to be,” Stewart said. “Preparations for any election really start the day after the previous election.”

Chris Adams, a political scientist with the University of Manitoba, said there’s “a bit of a political risk” to calling an election early, though he doesn’t believe PC voters would turn away from the party in disdain.

“I think that people won’t object to an election being called a little early, but I think they will object to an election being called a full year ahead of the set date,” Adams said.

Shannon Sampert, a political science professor at the University of Winnipeg, said she expects a summer election would benefit the PCs, especially in rural Manitoba.

“The crops will be in, the flood issues will be dealt with, and it will be before the crops have to be harvested. So you know, the summertime is always a good time for a premier that has a strong rural constituency,” she said.

Pallister reiterated Friday he is not prepared to call an election during a flood watch.

The province reported this week flooding in the Red River Valley may approach or exceed 2009 levels this spring, depending on the weather. There’s also a moderate risk of flooding along the Assiniboine River.

Having fulfilled his major 2016 campaign promise — to roll back the provincial sales tax by one per cent — the premier noted he still wants more of his government’s proposed legislation to pass before the writ drops.

Bills could take until November to receive royal assent. Pallister said he’s hoping for “co-operation” from the opposition parties.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu