Keeping provincial, federal parties separate

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/07/2024 (629 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’m with Nenshi.

No, I’m not moving to Alberta, and I’m definitely not taking out an NDP membership to support newly elected NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi. But I do agree with him on one point: members of a provincial party shouldn’t automatically become members of the federal one, too.

Nenshi has been vocal about his provincial party breaking away from the federal NDP as he tries to gain necessary distance from NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. In Alberta, it would be a tough sell to stay aligned with Singh, who has unabashedly and, perhaps to the chagrin of many New Democrats across the land, propped up the Liberal government and Justin Trudeau. Nenshi undoubtedly knows he needs distance from all things Ottawa if he’s going to have a serious run against Premier Danielle Smith and her United Conservative government in 2027. It makes good sense and good politics for the newly minted Alberta NDP leader to recognize Singh for the albatross he’s become.

That’s about all I can say regarding NDP policies and procedures, never having been any kind of close observer or insider of sorts.

What I can say, though, is that I always found it puzzling that a membership in a provincial NDP party automatically garnered membership in the federal party as well.

That was never the case for me during the 15 years I carried a Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba membership. I wasn’t automatically enrolled in the federal party, which would’ve then entitled me to vote in their leadership races, participate in their policy resolutions, and attend their conventions. To do that, I had to willingly purchase and sign up for that privilege, which I did sporadically during the time I’d held membership with the provincial party, but not consistently.

More so, I sought out advantages to being a separate entity, often telling constituents with all sincerity that we were not always aligned with our “federal cousins.” Take, for example, climate policy. There was a time, as a provincial cabinet minister and a card-carrying member of the provincial PC party, I was unveiling a 50-plus page climate and green plan, which carried a price on pollution at $25 per tonne. It confused voters, as it was offside the federal Conservative brand, but offered me an opportunity to talk about the differences between our parties.

Even more important, the separation between my party affiliation in Manitoba and the federal Conservatives was felt in my numerous dealings with Liberal ministers in Ottawa. Yes, when it comes to minister-to-minister relations, it’s supposed to be non-partisan. Federal governments will work with whatever provincial party is in power, and vice versa. Yet partisanship is never far from the mind of a politician.

Notwithstanding my provincial party affiliation, I was able to forge good relationships with several Liberal cabinet ministers and deliver on important programs for Manitoba. For example, the $1.2-billion child-care plan, the National Framework for ending Gender Based Violence, the National Housing Strategy, and the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, to name a few.

Undoubtedly, becoming a signatory and receiving these massive dollars for the province from the federal Liberals would’ve occurred even if I had been a card-carrying member of the O’Toole/Poilievre Conservatives. Yet it possibly would’ve required more heavy lifting from the bureaucrats, with fewer details being determined at the political level. And for me, that would’ve been a missed opportunity. I was elected by the people of Manitoba to serve Manitobans, and in many cases, that meant going to Ottawa and forging relations with the powers that be, regardless of political stripe.

Staying at a bird’s-eye level in Ottawa politics helped pave the way for relations I maintain to this day.

On the topic of partisan politics, the PC Party of Manitoba kicked off their race to replace former leader Heather Stefanson last week. Potential leadership candidates have until Oct. 15 to enter the race, with a Feb. 28, 2025, deadline to sell memberships for the contest at the April 26, 2025 convention.

In comparison to the last process, that ended in a divided party, a courtroom battle, and a lack of confidence all around in the result, this one seems to offer a level-playing field.

If the Tuxedo drubbing did anything to smoulder aspirations among the PC crowd, hopefully this process will reinstate confidence. I look forward to sitting on the sidelines as the party reinvigorates itself over the coming year.

Regarding the Tuxedo byelection, yes, as I’ve said before, the taste of crow is nothing new. Onward.

Rochelle Squires is a recovering politician after 7 1/2 years in the Manitoba legislature. She is a political and social commentator whose column appears Tuesdays.

rochelle@rochellesquires.ca