(Ottawa) Wab Kinew made history Tuesday by becoming the first Indigenous person from a First Nation to become premier of a province. The leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) obtained a majority government after a 28-day election campaign dominated by health. Faced with disappointing results, the leader of the Liberal Party, Dougald Lamont announced that he was leaving politics.
By early evening, the New Democrats had built a comfortable lead in many Winnipeg ridings, but the result remained so close in six ridings that their victory was confirmed by CBC almost two and a half hours after the close of business. ballot. The use of tabulators for the first time to count votes also slowed down the unveiling of results.
The Manitoba capital has 32 of the province’s 57 ridings. In rural areas, the map remained blue with the exception of a few orange breakthroughs.
At the time of writing, the New Democrats held 33 ridings, 15 more than when the Legislative Assembly was dissolved. The Progressive Conservatives retained 23 seats, having had 35 before the election.
It is therefore a return to power for the New Democrats after seven years on the opposition benches. Wab Kinew relied on health to convince voters, the Achilles heel of the Progressive Conservatives. The latter have been criticized for their budget cuts and their management of the pandemic. The New Democrats notably promised to reopen three emergency rooms, closed by their opponents, and to hire 300 new nurses.
Negative Progressive Conservative ads released during the final week of the election campaign failed to discourage voters. They highlighted, among other things, the New Democrats’ inexperience in governance and the troubled past of their leader Wab Kinew. The latter has already been accused of domestic violence, drunk driving and hitting a taxi driver. He always denied the domestic violence charges, which were withdrawn, and obtained a suspension of his criminal record for the others.
The Progressive Conservatives also drew the ire of federal Minister Marc Miller for buying ads to emphasize that they rejected the idea of excavating a Winnipeg dump for the remains of two Indigenous women who were killed by a murderer. The subject has been tearing the population apart for months.
The leader of the Liberal Party, Dougald Lamont, announced that he was leaving politics after losing his seat in the riding of Saint-Boniface, which went to the New Democrats. The Liberal vote collapsed so that the Liberals, who had three deputies when the Legislative Assembly was dissolved, now have only one. This is Cindy Lamoureux, the daughter of federal MP Kevin Lamoureux, who is in his third term.
PHOTO JOHN WOODS, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The leader of the Liberal Party, Dougald Lamont, announced that he was leaving politics after losing his seat.
“Sometimes you get caught in a wave and no matter what you do, it doesn’t seem to make a difference,” Mr. Lamont said, unable to hide his disappointment. He acknowledged that the election campaign had been difficult.
Former federal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette, who was a candidate for the Liberal Party, also bit the dust. He affirmed in an interview with Radio-Canada that the liberal label and the name of Justin Trudeau harmed him during this electoral campaign, going so far as to recall that he had already voted against his party in the House of Representatives. communities.
The NDP led the province for nearly 17 years, from 1999 to 2016, first under Gary Doer. The latter was replaced by Greg Selinger after being appointed Canadian ambassador to the United States in 2009. A position he held for seven years.