Manitoba Minute: Issue 89

Manitoba Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Manitoba politics.

📅 This Week In Manitoba: 📅

• Premier Wab Kinew told municipal leaders that the Province will launch a new meth task force to coordinate enforcement across the RCMP, Winnipeg police and First Nations services as dealers adapt to smaller, decentralized distribution networks. He said new provincial resources are coming, though details remain vague, and framed the effort as a necessary pushback against increasingly toxic meth entering the province. Kinew paired the crackdown with criticism of recent federal justice decisions, arguing they undermine public confidence, while also highlighting supports planned for people with addictions. Kinew said the broader goal is a dual approach that targets traffickers while expanding treatment and harm-reduction capacity.
  
  
• The Manitoba government has proposed 366 Henry Ave. in Winnipeg as the location for the Province’s first supervised consumption site, following concerns from residents about an earlier Disraeli Street site near a high school. The facility, run in partnership with the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre, would allow people to use drugs under supervision, with staff ready to respond to overdoses, as part of Manitoba’s broader harm-reduction strategy. Premier Wab Kinew and Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith emphasized the location is away from schools and close to social service providers, aiming to balance safety and accessibility. Public consultations are scheduled both in-person and virtually to gather input from local residents and businesses. Some nearby business owners, including the manager of a restaurant, expressed concern about safety, customer loss, and staff retention if the site opens. Winnipeg City officials and police are planning for security measures around the facility. 
  
  
• Premier Wab Kinew continues to lead the country in approval ratings, with new Angus Reid polling placing him at 58% and once again at the top among Canadian premiers. The rating remains well above national peers, though it represents a gradual decline from his June peak of 68%. The poll notes two major developments shaping public perception: the Province’s launch of the Brady Road Landfill search for the remains of Ashlee Shingoose, and Kinew’s collaboration with Prime Minister Mark Carney on the Port of Churchill Plus project, designated an area of national interest. While Kinew remains broadly popular, the data also highlights mixed views of Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan, whose favourables sit in the mid-20s and whose unfavourables are roughly twice that level. 
  
  
• Veteran campaign strategist Stephen Carter has been brought in to rebuild the Progressive Conservatives ahead of the next provincial election, marking the party’s most significant organizational move since its 2023 defeat. Carter, known nationally for engineering former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s unexpected 2010 win and for helping Alison Redford rise to the Alberta premiership, is expected to modernize the PCs’ outreach and reconnect them with voters who drifted to the NDP. Party president Peter Smith said Carter’s record across the political spectrum made him the strongest choice to guide a reset under new leader Obby Khan, whose early tenure has been overshadowed by weak fundraising and lingering debt from the last campaign. With polls showing sustained NDP strength and the next election set for October 2027, PCs say Carter’s arrival signals a serious effort to regain relevance and discipline.
  
  
• Manitoba will sell roughly $1 million in United States alcohol products next week, with Premier Wab Kinew announcing that proceeds of about $500,000 will support holiday cheer boards in Winnipeg, Brandon, and Thompson. The bottles were originally pulled from shelves in March as part of the Province’s response to American tariffs, but some items are approaching expiry and must be cleared. Kinew stressed that Manitoba is still not purchasing new American-made alcohol, and that brands brewed domestically are unaffected. Restaurants, vendors and private wine stores will have first access on Monday, followed by limited public sales at government liquor outlets on Wednesday. Kinew framed the move as a way to turn a trade dispute into community support during the holiday season, saying Manitobans “deserve some holiday cheer” after months of tariff uncertainty.
  
  
• Premier Wab Kinew says the province could see increased competition in the grocery sector following a new law that bans restrictive property agreements preventing stores from opening near existing grocers. The law, passed in June, allows the province to challenge agreements that block competition and refer matters to the Municipal Board if deemed against the public interest. Of 66 agreements potentially affected, 46 were registered before the 180-day deadline, and the government plans to challenge all of them, though the process could take years. Kinew said the changes aim to benefit consumers by fostering competition, but food economist Mike von Massow cautioned that the law is unlikely to significantly lower prices, noting that big-box stores generally avoid close proximity regardless of covenants. While the measure may help independent or smaller retailers enter certain areas, von Massow described it largely as a symbolic move for the government rather than a solution to affordability.

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