Manitoba legislature speaker, Myrna Driedger, says she will not seek re-election
Myrna Driedger, the speaker of the Manitoba legislature and one of the chamber's longest-serving members, announced Wednesday she will not seek another term in the election scheduled for Oct. 3.
Driedger is the eighth Progressive Conservative to announce plans to leave politics in recent months as the Tories continue to lag behind the Opposition New Democrats in opinion polls.
"I am genuinely thankful for my journey in public life and look forward to what the next chapter will bring," Driedger said in a statement on her website.
Manitoba Opposition leader rejects accusation he would defund police
Manitoba's Opposition NDP leader says he would not reduce funding for police if his party wins the upcoming provincial election.
Wab Kinew is rejecting accusations from the governing Progressive Conservatives that he is soft on crime and in favour of defunding police.
Premier Heather Stefanson made the accusation in a recent state of the province speech to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, while promoting her party as being tough on crime.
Manitoba Labour Board rejects complaints against unions on COVID rules
The Manitoba Labour Board has dismissed several complaints in recent months from workers who wanted their unions to fight COVID-19 requirements.
The details differ slightly in each of the complaints considered since December of last year from, among others, a nurse, a lab technologist, a plumber and an instructor.
But the rulings have a common finding — that unions had acted reasonably after considering legal advice and the interests of all their members.
Manitoba deficit set to shrink as economy and Crown energy utility rebound
The Manitoba government is forecasting a smaller deficit, hinting at more tax cuts, and eyeing new financial aid to help people deal with the rising cost of living.
A fiscal update from the Progressive Conservative government Tuesday forecasts a deficit of $193 million for the fiscal year that ends in March. That's down from the $548 million predicted in last spring's budget and the $202 million forecast in the last fiscal update in September.
Federal equalization payments to Manitoba jump, NDP say use it for health
The Manitoba government is forecast to see its equalization payments from the federal government jump by $577 million in the fiscal year that will start in April, new federal figures say.
The total of $3.5 billion represents a 19 per cent increase from the current year and is roughly double the amount Manitoba received when the Progressive Conservatives took office in 2016.
Dignitaries, family and friends gather for funeral of Manitoba politician Jim Carr
Politicians of all stripes joined hundreds of mourners who gathered on Saturday to pay tribute to Jim Carr, the Liberal member of Parliament who died five days earlier at the age of 71 following a battle with cancer.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among the cross-section of dignitaries at the memorial service, which also included former NDP and Progressive Conservative premiers of Manitoba, MPs from the government and opposition side of the House of Commons and prominent Indigenous leaders.
Churches in Manitoba Court of Appeal to challenge COVID-19 rules
Lawyers for seven Manitoba churches made another attempt Tuesday to have some of the province's former COVID-19 restrictions declared invalid.
The churches say public health orders in 2020 and 2021 that temporarily closed in-person religious services, then permitted them with caps on attendance, violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
A Court of Queen’s Bench justice previously rejected that argument, saying the restrictions were both necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and allowable under Section 1 of the Charter.
Manitoba's governing Tories hold seat in tight byelection contest Tuesday
Manitoba's governing Progressive Conservatives won a byelection in the Kirkfield Park constituency in Winnipeg Tuesday night, narrowly hanging on to a seat they had previously won handily.
The race went down to the wire. Tory candidate Kevin Klein won by a 160-vote margin over Logan Oxenham of the Opposition New Democrats. Manitoba Liberal Rhonda Nichol placed a strong third.
This is the last byelection before the provincial vote slated for next October, and comes at a time when the Tories are trailing the NDP in opinion polls.
'A thousand times kinder, wiser': Winnipeg MP Jim Carr dies after long illness
Jim Carr earned a reputation as a civil, contemplative politician in an increasingly polarized world.
Friends, and even foes, described him as kind.
The Liberal member of Parliament from Winnipeg and former cabinet minister died, his family announced Monday. He was 71.
"As a dedicated elected official, business and community leader in Manitoba for over 30 years, Jim was loved and respected by so many and we know he will be profoundly missed," Carr's family said in a written statement.
Byelection for Winnipeg seat a barometer for provincial election: political scientist
Voters in part of western Winnipeg go to the polls Tuesday in a byelection that one political analyst says could serve as an indicator for the provincial election slated for next October.
The race in the Kirkfield Park constituency, which has been vacant since former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Scott Fielding resigned last spring, comes at a time when the governing Tories are low in opinion polls. The Tories have been trailing the Opposition NDP since the fall of 2020, when COVID-19 started to strain the health-care system.