Fanfare erupts on Broadway with the arrival of Canada’s most popular premier
BY KIM LANGEN
The NDP premier of the province visited the small town of Killarney earlier this week, and received a huge welcome as he entered a packed coffee shop.
Wab Kinew, along with his videographer, communications officer and photographer, arrived on Monday afternoon, in sunny weather, to stroll into the Oak and Owl on Broadway.
The event was to both campaign for membership in the NDP Party and garner fiscal support, and to welcome in a new nominee, local councillor/deputy mayor, and previous long-time mayor Rick Pauls, as the party’s candidate for Turtle Mountain in the next provincial election.
“The vision for Manitoba includes rural Manitoba,” said Kinew. “We want rural Manitoba to send us more people to work at our table. People feel like they have been voting for the PCs, and what have they seen changed? We are choosing someone to sit at the table, and make changes for real people.”
Rick Pauls, who has served on local council for two decades, thanked the premier for his endorsement.
“I sold my restaurant, and now I have time to pursue other passions,” said Pauls. “Now it’s time to give back, and make the region successful. It has been Conservative here for generations, and we have been taken for granted because we have always voted for them. We need to have a voice at the table. I am here to listen, and to represent, and to have a strong voice in this region. Thank you for the nomination.”
Introduced by MC, Killarney councillor Jane Ireland, Kinew said, “We have come a long way. Our focus has been on health care, the cost of living, and of being proud of where you come from. We ran on health care, and the first emergency room we worked on was the ER in Carberry. When we came into government, the first thing we did was cut the gas tax, and that cut the cost of living.”
The next provincial election is just over a year away, in October of 2027, and in the meantime Pauls will be campaigning for the seat of MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) in the Turtle Mountain constituency.
Doyle Piwniuk is the current PC MLA, and has announced that he will not be seeking re-election. Wally Daudrich (of Morden and Churchill) and Ed Grenier (of Notre Dame) are reported to both be contenders for the Conservative nominee position.
The Turtle Mountain riding was recreated ahead of the 2019 election.
Piwniuk won 67 and 55 per cent of the vote for the PCs in the 2019 and 2023 elections, respectively. He had previously served as MLA for Arthur-Virden before ridings were redrawn.
In the 2023 election, Lorna Canada-Vanegas Mesa of the NDP came in second with 1,940 votes (22.45%), followed by Kevin Friesen of the Keystone Party with 1,489 votes (17.23%), and Ali Tarar of the Liberals finished with 420 votes (4.86%).
And Wab Kinew made history by becoming Canada’s first First Nations premier.
Kinew said on Monday, that with more than a year to campaign, the NDP had plenty of time to share their message of improving health care and the cost of living.
Pauls said that infrastructure and health care are the top issues on his agenda. And he added that another slam-dunk for the Progressive Conservatives might not be in the cards next year.
“Times are changing, and it’s going to be a very big challenge for them to keep this riding,” he said.
RICK PAULS DECLARED TURTLE MOUNTAIN NDP CANDIDATE – Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew (right) drove out to Killarney on Monday to formalize the nomination of local councillor and previous mayor Rick Pauls (left) as the NDP’s Turtle Mountain constituency candidate in the next provincial election. The Oak and Owl was totally packed, with over 100 people attending the unusual event.
SEA OF ORANGE – Premier Wab Kinew, Rick Pauls and supporters, at The Oak & Owl in Killarney on Monday, hope for an orange wave in Turtle Mountain in the next provincial election.
JAY STRUTH/KILLARNEY GUIDE PHOTOS