Duguid wants to continue work in riding

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This article was published 07/10/2019 (2387 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a two-horse race for the federal seat in Winnipeg South, according to incumbent Liberal MP Terry Duguid, and he’s hoping voters will once again bet on the Grits.

“In this riding particularly, you see the blue signs and the red signs,” Duguid said. “There are only two people who are going to be prime minister: it’s either going to be Andrew Scheer and his Harper Conservative friends, or Justin Trudeau and his caucus.

“We have a very stark choice… which is why we can choose to go forward, or we can choose to go backward.”

Duguid, 64, has represented Winnipeg South in Parliament since 2015 when he was elected in a race with no incumbent. The Whyte Ridge local won the 2015 contest with 58.3 per cent of the vote, taking back the riding from the Conservatives and former MP Rod Bruinooge, who represented the community from 2006 to 2015, and did not seek re-election.

“I’m running because I care about my country and I care about my community,” Duguid said. “I think the Liberal government has a good record. We still have much work to do and my constituency team and I have a proud record of service in this very rapidly growing part of the city.”

During his time in Ottawa, Duguid served as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality, and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. He also sat on the Canada-China Legislative Association as a member and vice-chair.

In 2017, Duguid was appointed the local lead for the federal government’s multi-million dollar, five-year Lake Winnipeg Basin Program.

“We’re spending $25.7 million to clean up Lake Winnipeg, which is in deep trouble,” Duguid said. “We brought Indigenous peoples, municipalities, and the environmental community to the table to all put our shoulder to the wheel to get this done.”

“I’m pushing my own federal Liberal government to do more, but I’m also pushing local elected representatives to do more because Lake Winnipeg can’t wait,” he said.

Duguid also had a hand in securing federal funding for research programs and capital improvements at the University of Manitoba, including the new Stanley Pauley Engineering Building and the Innovation Hub in Smartpark, as well as Canada 150 dollars for the St. Norbert Farmers’ Market canopy project and mortgage relief for housing co-op Village Canadien.

However, his proudest moments as MP come from serving residents well, Duguid said.

“Sometimes they’re little things, like reuniting families — which is a big thing for families, but they’re small everyday acts,” he said.

Reflecting on the past four years of Liberal governance, including dark spots on the Liberal record — the exodus of two high profile cabinet ministers, the SNC-Lavalin affair, broken promises on electoral reform, and past photos of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in blackface  — Duguid said there are lessons learned that will be applied by a re-elected Liberal government and the optimism that characterized the 2015 election campaign is still smouldering.

“When I’m talking to residents, there’s a diversity of opinion, but they want to move forward,” Duguid said. “Have we been a perfect government? No. Has our prime minister been perfect? No. And he’s the first one to admit to some mistakes. But we have accomplished a lot.

“I think there’s always disappointment with governments, that you haven’t done everything. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t done anything,” Duguid said.

Locally, Duguid said his ambitions for Winnipeg South if re-elected include supporting a community recreation centre in Waverley West, seeing the southwest rapid transit corridor completed under a Liberal government, and further investment in the U of M.

Prior to entering federal politics, Duguid was city councillor for Miles MacDonell (1989-1992) and North Kildonan (1992-1995). In 1997, he founded Sustainable Developments International, a firm specializing in environmental management and sustainable development, and in 2000 was named chair of the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission. Go online at 2019.liberal.ca for more information.

Other candidates in Winnipeg South are Paul Bettess (Green), Jean-Paul Lapointe (NDP), Melanie Maher (Conservative) and Mirwais Nasiri (PPC). Nasiri declined a request for an interview.