Manitoba Majority Government, 2023-?

[RangerRay]

Manitoba Tory cabinet minister denounces right-wing pivot in election campaign | Globalnews.ca

A Manitoba cabinet minister defeated in Tuesday's election says the PC party she has served for years took a hard-right pivot and now needs to address an identity crisis.

globalnews.ca

“Politics is a game of addition, not subtraction. What this campaign practised … was a campaign of subtraction rather than addition,” he said.

Ding ding ding! It’s one thing to make the tough decision to not search the landfill for bodies. It’s another to campaign on it. Just one example of the Tories’ awful campaign.

 

[OldSolduer]

The PCs in their rush to select a woman as their leader selected the wrong one. Shot themselves in the foot.

 

[RangerRay]

I feel like there’s a lesson to be learned here…

Sabrina Maddeaux: Manitoba PCs offer case study in how not to run an election campaign

Heather Stefanson ignored pressing issues and failed to take advantage of the conservative moment

nationalpost.com

Sabrina Maddeaux: Manitoba PCs offer case study in how not to run an election campaign​

Heather Stefanson ignored pressing issues and failed to take advantage of the conservative moment

Author of the article:
Sabrina Maddeaux
Published Oct 04, 2023

It’s somewhat comforting that, in the age of big data and laser-focused analytics, political campaigns can still go so disastrously haywire. The quest to govern is still influenced by ungovernable human factors from charisma, to hubris, to reading the room so poorly one might as well be in the wrong house. Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives have provided the latest example of a campaign that was driven terribly (and avoidably) off course by poor judgment and a fundamental inability to connect with voters.

The New Democrats ousted the Tories from office on Tuesday with a historic majority win that will see Wab Kinew become just the second Indigenous premier of a province. The downfall of the PCs should be closely studied, and diligently avoided, by other Conservative party leaders across the country.

Sometimes a campaign is unable to overcome the glaring flaws of its own candidate. Such as in the case of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose ability to interact with other humans as he seeks the Republican nomination in the United States approximates that of a malfunctioning Disney World animatronic.

Outgoing Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson, who announced she’ll step down as PC leader, also suffered from some automatron tendencies of her own. Her campaign kicked off with the now-infamous “draw the line” video, which went viral in all the wrong ways.

In it, Stefanson opens by looking deadpan in a closeup shot, saying, “I’d like to say yes to everything, but sometimes the answer just has to be no.” She went on to accuse the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union of playing politics by striking, and vowed to “draw the line” against their demands. The first time I watched it, I thought it was intended to be satirical.

It can be a Conservative tendency to confuse a strong leader who stands up for voters with a joyless Cylon straight out of “Battlestar Galactica.” Empathy and relatable emotion are musts for anyone seeking elected office. This is even more true in an internet era that’s obsessed with “authenticity.” Even hard-line policies require a human touch during campaigns.

The choice to actively attack and alienate union workers when Conservatives across the country are winning them over also exposed a critical misread of the political moment. The new conservatism is pro-labour and, while strikes are always contentious, understands the importance of the right to collectively bargain as a fundamental worker freedom.

But most confounding was the PC’s choice to campaign on their opposition to a landfill search for the remains of two First Nations women. To hold this stance is one matter, but placing billboard and newspaper ads proudly trumpeting the tagline “Stand Firm” betrayed both a disturbing callousness and a lack of more substantive policy on issues ranging from housing to the economy.

In a bad economy, Conservatives are primed to win— essentially all they have to do is not screw up. Choosing to forgo one’s bread-and-butter issues in favour of sideline controversies with no upside is a temptation that must be resisted at all costs.

In a final masterstroke, the PCs took out ads just before election day that undermined all their previous campaign messaging, however flawed it was to begin with. “During an election it’s OK to disagree on issues without the fear of being judged, so vote like no one is watching because no one is,” the ad said.

Suggesting it’s shameful or socially taboo to vote for your own party isn’t a conventional political tactic for good reason. Especially at a time when conservatism is experiencing a resurgence. The federal Tories are even selling merchandise, and there’s no social currency more valuable among supporters than a photo with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to post online.

Modern conservatives want to be proud to be part of a community, not to have to hide their involvement in a movement that lurks in the shadows. Right-wing candidates at any level would be crazy to not play into this political and cultural moment, let alone advertise against it.

Stefanson’s loss should serve as an important reminder to Conservatives across Canada that, even with all the winds blowing in their favour, victory is never guaranteed. It can be easily thwarted — not just by one’s opponents, but by one’s own campaign choices.

National Post

 

[dapaterson]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1710023244453941561

 

[ModlrMike]

The PCs in their rush to select a woman as their leader selected the wrong one. Shot themselves in the foot.

Given the two options, they selected the right one. I can only imagine how much of a wingnut circus it would have been if Shelley Glover had won. The millstone around Heather's neck was having to court Shelley's faction. If the PCs had ignore the wingnuts, they might have been able to pull this one out of the fire. My rudimentary analysis is that a large percentage of PC voters stayed home, rather than the NDP gaining. That tells me that the party needs to return to the mainstream, and leave the loudmouths on the sidelines.

 

[brihard]

That tells me that the party needs to return to the mainstream, and leave the loudmouths on the sidelines.

Yup, a dilemma Conservative parties are facing across Canada.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Yup, a dilemma Conservative all parties are facing across Canada.

FTFY

 

[brihard]

FTFY

To some extent, yes. Given their constant struggle to attract the precarious centrist votes and win swing ridings, I believe that, federally at least, it’s a bigger problem for the CPC. The wingnuts on the left are all old and familiar dynamics that we’re mostly all pretty comfortable with ignoring. The fairly new ‘angry loud’ on the right are still unfamiliar enough that they have a relatively outsized impact on perceptions in contrast with their actual numbers.

 

[Halifax Tar]

To some extent, yes. Given their constant struggle to attract the precarious centrist votes and win swing ridings, I believe that, federally at least, it’s a bigger problem for the CPC. The wingnuts on the left are all old and familiar dynamics that we’re mostly all pretty comfortable with ignoring. The fairly new ‘angry loud’ on the right are still unfamiliar enough that they have a relatively outsized impact on perceptions in contrast with their actual numbers.

Of course you do. Have a great thanks giving!

 

[Remius]

Yup, a dilemma Conservative parties are facing across Canada.

I would argue that Premiers like Ford and Houston have done a good job of dealing with or avoiding the wing nuts in their spheres. I’m not tracking any really under Houston (he actually campaigned on a « we’re not them » platform) and Ford has had no issues turfing his (Randy Hilliar).

There are rumblings in the CPC to be certain due to the big tent it lays claim to to. It’s an Achilles heal to an extent that other parties don’t suffer from as much. But they did drive off Mad Max and his ilk (even though they are still fighting over those scraps).

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I would argue that Premiers like Ford and Houston have done a good job of dealing with or avoiding the wing nuts in their spheres. I’m not tracking any really under Houston (he actually campaigned on a « we’re not them » platform) and Ford has had no issues turfing his (Randy Hilliar).

There are rumblings in the CPC to be certain due to the big tent it lays claim to to. It’s an Achilles heal to an extent that other parties don’t suffer from as much.

Unless you are the Federal Liberals, where the wackjobs have captured the entire party, pretended to be centrist and pushed everyone else out.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Unless you are the Federal Liberals, where the wackjobs have captured the entire party, pretended to be centrist and pushed everyone else out.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The PCs in their rush to select a woman as their leader selected the wrong one. Shot themselves in the foot.

Well, some more cynical than me might look back at other situations where if a team thought it might not do so well, they'd let a woman give it a go just in case ....

Unless you are the Federal Liberals, where the wackjobs have captured the entire party, pretended to be centrist and pushed everyone else out.

I'd finesse that a touch, calling it whackjobs being allowed to capture the party because the Exalted Leader liked some of the whack (or didn't care enough to do anything differently) and didn't keep the ship steered the same way. I don't recall a lot of Team Red fringers pretending to be centrist.

 

[Brad Sallows]

They pretty much all stood behind the decision to make deficit budgets business-as-usual, which was predictably foolish.

 

[Jarnhamar]

It's nice to see Manitobians look past the new premiers old drinking and driving and assaulting his girlfriend trouble.

 

[Remius]

It's nice to see Manitobians look past the new premiers old drinking and driving and assaulting his girlfriend trouble.

People love redemption stories.

 

[RangerRay]

I didn’t vote for him, but I think this was baked into the cake; his record has been out in the open, he’s received pardons and by all accounts he’s turned his life around. Everyone likes a redemption story.

During his acceptance speech, he told Indigenous youth that if they want a better life, they have to be accountable and take the first step in creating that better life. That’s a message I think a lot of people can get behind.

Colby Cosh: Wab Kinew’s small-c conservative message

Maybe only he could win an election for the NDP and say that a government can’t put your life back together unless you meet it halfway

nationalpost.com

Colby Cosh: Wab Kinew’s small-c conservative message

By Colby Cosh

October 06, 2023

My colleague Michael Higgins has an excellent column in Friday’s Post about incoming Manitoba premier Wab Kinew and the remarkable victory speech he gave late Tuesday after his New Democrats won the provincial election. Kinew tackled the usual priorities of the moment, giving love to his own partisans and talking about how his party’s victory means a brighter future for Manitobans. But he also added an unusual personal message with an obvious specific audience, knowing that Canadians ordinarily don’t notice most anything that happens in Manitoba and that he may never again be watched by so many eyeballs.


Kinew is the first-ever First Nations premier of a Canadian province, and that’s a “first” that we dare not dismiss as the usual box-checking diversity exercise. Twenty years ago, as a young and aimless alcoholic, Kinew amassed a brief track record of violence that would probably disqualify a white politician for high office forever. But he pulled himself together while there was still time, became a celebrated broadcaster and found his way into an unlikely political career, becoming leader of the Manitoba NDP in 2017.


So, yeah, Kinew’s diversity bona fides helped make this possible … and the incumbent Manitoba Conservatives did their bit to help, running a re-election campaign characterized by comically daft creepiness. Kinew has made a point of not underplaying his troubled background, although when it was brought up by Conservatives on social media during the campaign, the favourite NDP counter-tactic seems to have been to point out the killer premier next door in Saskatchewan. Yes, us western voters sure have to do a lot of forgiving.


As it turned out, however, all this ugliness led to Kinew’s victory address — which, in turn, became what can only be called a fine and hopeful small-c conservative moment. He told troubled youths still in his old predicament — “the party lifestyle” — to stop “making excuses” and join the wider community.


“To young people out there who want to change your life for the better: you can do it,” the premier-designate said. “But here’s the thing: you have to want it.… If you want to join the workforce, get a new career, it has to be you that takes the first step. And if you are dealing with some kind of illness, and want to find healing, it has to be you to decide to move forward.

“I can’t do that for you,” Kinew said. And, yeah, my jaw dropped a little when he added: “A government can’t do that for you. You have to be the person that decides to take the first step.”


You’ve likely heard the saying, “Only Nixon (i.e., a hawkish Republican) could go to China”; well, maybe only Wab Kinew could win an election for the New Democratic Party and say that a government can’t put your life back together unless you meet it halfway. And this message wasn’t just about conservative notions of personal responsibility — it was also about validating bourgeois moral norms of work and family and health, and about insisting that the future of First Nations has to involve succeeding in Canada, with all its protruding warts, instead of taking a self-destructive warlike stance against it.

Us settlers — a politically charged term I was raised in the West to be proud of — should meet Wab Kinew halfway, too. No doubt his strategic intention was partly to impress and reassure Manitobans who voted Conservative or Liberal, for this is also one purpose of a victory speech; and no doubt he wanted to hint that a survivor of Aboriginal family dysfunction and alcohol abuse is bound to be more realistic about social problems and the place of the state than the usual white-bread NDP leader with a master’s degree and an endless supply of apologies and racial condescension.


Well, hell, that’s surely 100 per cent accurate as far as it goes. Nobody can know whether Kinew will run Manitoba’s government well as a practical matter — the stakes are unnervingly high. But something valuable for the whole country will be accomplished if he does have success as a leader, and whether or not you give a buffalo chip about Manitoba, you should probably be pulling for that.


National Post
Twitter.com/colbycosh

 

[brihard]

I would argue that Premiers like Ford and Houston have done a good job of dealing with or avoiding the wing nuts in their spheres. I’m not tracking any really under Houston (he actually campaigned on a « we’re not them » platform) and Ford has had no issues turfing his (Randy Hilliar).

I donMt really know anything about Houston, but yeah, Ford’s kept it in check pretty well.

 

[Jarnhamar]

People love redemption stories.

They do. I don't recall it even being a big issue during their election. Maybe politics are moving past stuff 20 years in the past.

 

[daftandbarmy]

They do. I don't recall it even being a big issue during their election. Maybe politics are moving past stuff 20 years in the past.