Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew speaks to party supporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday night, after his party secured a majority in the provincial election. (James Turner/CBC)
Manitoba’s New Democratic Party rode to a resounding victory Tuesday night on the back of long-simmering frustration and anger with the province’s Progressive Conservatives — something the governing party couldn’t shake, even with a new face at the helm.
The NDP victory also signalled that despite all the noise of the campaign — from escalating PC attack ads in its waning days to a focus on divisive issues, including a vague call for parental rights in schools and a refusal to search a landfill for the remains of two First Nations homicide victims — it was the issues that mattered to voters.
And the winning party’s choice of health care as the issue to focus on seems to have been a smart one.
That topic made its way into nearly all the NDP’s announcements on the campaign trail, and into premier-designate Wab Kinew’s victory speech on Tuesday night — where front-line workers were the very first people he addressed.
“To the people in health care, to the people working in the bedside today, to the people thinking of pursuing a career, to health-care workers across the country and other provinces around the world, I have a simple message to you. We need you,” Kinew said in a speech to a room filled with ecstatic supporters, as he was surrounded on stage by his wife, Dr. Lisa Monkman, and their children.
Though Kinew was relatively careful in discussing his identity as an Anishinaabe man on the campaign trail, and in addressing Indigenous issues at all, he also used the historic night to connect with young Indigenous people in the audience — perhaps suggesting a shift in approach from Manitoba’s first First Nations premier.
“I want to speak to the young neechies out there,” he said to loud cheers from the bursting crowd, who were packed shoulder-to-shoulder for most of the night.
Kinew encourages Indigenous youth seeking change to take 1st step
Wab Kinew is reaching out to Indigenous youth, telling them to stop making excuses and start believing in themselves. Speaking from personal experience, he says they have to “want it,” and if they do, the Manitoba NDP government will be there to provide assistance – if they take the first step.
“I was given a second chance in life, and I would like to think that I’ve made good on that opportunity. And you can do the same — here’s how. My life became immeasurably better when I stopped making excuses and I started looking for a reason.
“And I found that reason in our family. I found that reason in our community. And I found that reason in our province and country.”
Discontent with government
As of late Tuesday night, Kinew’s NDP had snagged at least 30 of 57 seats — a double-digit gain from the 18 they clinched in 2019 and a clear victory for the party.
The win comes after recent polling suggested the NDP had taken the lead in the race over the Progressive Conservatives, who had been in power since 2016 and won a second straight majority government in 2019.
Manitoba NDP supporters cheer upon hearing early in the night the party was elected or leading in more than 29 ridings — the number required to form a majority government — at the party’s election headquarters at the Fort Garry Hotel in downtown Winnipeg on Tuesday. (James Turner/CBC)
But the governing party was unable to rise above a drop in opinion polls it faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as case numbers spiked during the second and third waves and Manitoba sent dozens of intensive care patients to other provinces because its own hospitals were overwhelmed.
Heather Stefanson later replaced controversial former premier Brian Pallister as PC leader in a hotly contested leadership race in October 2021.
But even two years of a new face ended up falling short of being able to convince many Manitobans the party had changed enough to overcome that sense of discontent.
The Manitoba NDP had been the Official Opposition since being ousted by the Progressive Conservatives in a crushing 2016 defeat that followed a caucus revolt against former leader Greg Selinger — someone the PCs continually tried to link Kinew to this year, even before the campaign officially began.
Health care front of mind — not attacks
The results of Manitoba’s election send a message that Kinew’s vision of revamping the province’s health-care system — including the NDP’s crown jewel promise to reopen three emergency rooms that were closed under the PC government — may have resonated with voters more than anything else.
The win also suggests the NDP leader was also able to convince Manitobans he would be a fiscally responsible premier on issues ranging from fighting homelessness to tackling the high cost of living, despite his opponents’ suggestions to the contrary.
The NDP victory is also likely to signal a reversal of the PC government’s decision not to help fund a search of the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, homicide victims whose remains police believe were taken to the Winnipeg-area site.
That landfill search — along with a pledge to bolster parental rights in schools, which some critics feared would parallel changes in other regions that require schools to get parental consent to use the chosen names and pronouns of kids under 16 — were among the divisive topics that characterized the final stretch of the PC campaign.
Kinew delivers his victory speech and wishes his mother, Kathi Avery Kinew, a happy birthday, after winning the election on Tuesday night. (David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press)
Meanwhile, Kinew was the face of a largely positive campaign despite escalating attack ads by the Progressive Conservatives aimed at criminal charges in his past — charges that either resulted in stays or pardons, and which the NDP leader has said are part of what motivated him to get into politics.
“It seemed to reek of desperation,” said Paul Thomas, professor emeritus in political studies at the University of Manitoba, adding that while Stefanson has said she doesn’t micromanage the party’s advertising, what the campaign puts out is ultimately her responsibility.
Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson gives her concession speech following her party’s loss in the Manitoba election on Tuesday. Stefanson said she would step down as party leader after the NDP won a majority government. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)
Stefanson, who said she would be resigning as party leader after conceding Tuesday night, felt the PCs’ failure in her home riding of Tuxedo — which she won handily in 2019 and which still hadn’t been called between her or her NDP opponent as of Wednesday morning.
Kelly Saunders, an associate political science professor at Brandon University, said the PCs gambled and lost on several fronts: first by underestimating how important health care would be to voters and second by focusing on “nasty divisive politics.”
Progressive Conservative supporters listen as Stefanson gives her concession speech on Tuesday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)
The party will have to put some serious thought into where it goes from here, she said.
“Do they try to get back to their more Progressive Conservative roots?” said Saunders.
“Or do they continue, you know, shifting more towards the right? Which is what we saw in the last few weeks.”
Indigeneity highlighted
For his part, Kinew rarely acknowledged the fact that he’s Indigenous on the campaign trail — preferring instead to tell reporters he didn’t want to be the First Nations premier of Manitoba, but “the best premier of Manitoba.”
The one exception was an August speech at Winnipeg’s Canadian Mennonite University, where he characterized his primary opponents’ attempts to make his past run-ins with the law a campaign issue as being at least in part motivated by racism, or “the fact that I’m somebody who sometimes wears my hair in a braid.”
Indigenous issues also appeared to be largely sidelined by the NDP during the election campaign, in spite — or perhaps because — of the fact its leader was poised to become Manitoba’s first First Nations premier.
Premier-designate Wab Kinew delivers his victory speech surrounded by family after winning Manitoba’s provincial election in Winnipeg on Tuesday night. (David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press)
But Kinew’s use of his victory speech to directly address Indigenous youth — and signing it off by telling the audience “thank you and miigwech” — signaled something new from the premier-designate, who Saunders said had to navigate discussing his Indigeneity carefully during a campaign where his opponents tried to weaponize it.
“Whereas tonight, you know, he could maybe be a little bit more free … and a little bit more himself,” she said.
“It was kind of nice for him to be able to feel comfortable enough, maybe, to be able to share that experience in a way that he didn’t feel he was able to during the campaign, where he had to be more guarded.”
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Victor Hedman as the team captain on Wednesday as training camp opened, making the big defenseman the successor to Steven Stamkos.
Hedman, who is going into his 16th season with Tampa Bay, was considered the obvious choice to get the “C” after the Lightning did not re-sign Stamkos and their longtime captain left to join Nashville.
“Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
The 33-year-old from Sweden was a key contributor in the Lightning hoisting the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21, including playoff MVP honors on the first of those championship runs. Hedman also took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2018 and finished in the top three in voting five other seasons.
Ryan McDonagh, who was reacquired early in the offseason in a trade with the Predators, and MVP finalist Nikita Kucherov will serve as alternate captains with the Lightning moving on to the post-Stamkos era.
TORONTO – While Toronto FC is looking to improve its position on the pitch, general manager Jason Hernandez is trying to do the same off it.
That has been easier said than done this season.
Sending winger Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to CF Montreal for up to $1.3 million (all dollar figures in U.S. funds) in general allocation money before the secondary transfer window closed in early August helped set the stage for future moves.
But there have been plenty of obstacles, which Hernandez has been working to clear.
“We feel a lot more confident going into this upcoming off-season that we did the one prior,” said Hernandez. “There’s a level of what I would say booby-traps that were uncovered when I first got the (GM) role at the end of last summer.”
The club is paying off departed forwards Adam Diomande and Ayo Akinola as well as a $500,000 payment due in 2024 to Belgium’s Anderlecht for Jamaican international defender Kemar Lawrence. That payment was part of the transfer fee for Lawrence, who joined TFC from Anderlecht in May 2021 and was traded to Minnesota United in March 2022.
Diomande was waived while Akinola’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
“That comes to an end in ’25, which is nice,” said Hernandez. “We had to suffer from a salary cap perspective this season. But those things coming off, the Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty money coming in, we’re going to be in a position to make some good additions, which is positive.”
While MLS clubs are allowed one contract buyout per year, Toronto had already used its on former captain Michel Bradley, who retired after last season. Bradley had previously restructured his contract, deferring money.
TFC’s only other move during the summer transfer window was the signing of free-agent defender Henry Wingo. Hernandez said the club knew going into the window that it was likely limited to the one acquisition “unless other business happened”
“We knew we had this bucket of money and we knew we were going to go get Henry,” said Hernandez.
While the sale of the highly touted Marshall-Rutty opened up other possibilities, it came on the eve of the transfer window closing. And the team did not like what it saw in the free-agent market.
“A lot of the opportunities we were presented in the free agency space felt more like a short-term, Band-Aid decision versus what actually the club probably needs.”
Hernandez was not willing to take in players who came with a “club-friendly” salary cap charge in 2024 and a much bigger number in 2025.
Instead, Toronto promoted forward Charlie Sharp and wingback Nate Edwards to the first team from TFC 2 ahead of last Friday’s roster freeze.
MLS teams are operating on a salary budget of $5.47 million this season, which covers up to 20 players on the senior roster (clubs can elect to spread that number across 18 players). But the league has several mechanisms that allow those funds to go further, including using allocation money (both general and targeted) to buy down salaries.
Designated players only count $683,750 — the maximum salary charge — against the cap no matter their actual pay. Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne is actually earning $15.4 million with fellow Italian Federico Bernardeschi collecting $6.295 million and Canadian Richie Laryea $1.208 million.
Hernandez says Laryea’s contract can — and “very likely” will — be restructured so as to remove the designated player status.
There are benefits in going with just two designated players rather than three.
Teams that elect to go with two DPs can sign up to four players as part of the league’s “U22 Initiative.” The pluses of that structure include a reduced salary cap charge for the young players and up to an extra $2 million in general allocation money.
Hernandez says the club is currently pondering whether that is the way to go.
Captain Jonathan Osorio who is earning $836,370 this season, restructured his deal to allow the team to sign Laryea as a DP. In doing so, Osorio had his option year guaranteed so his contact runs through 2026.
Hernandez and coach John Herdman will have decisions to make come the end of the year.
The contracts of goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh ($94,200), defenders Kevin Long ($277,500), Shane O’Neill ($413,000) and Kobe Franklin ($100,520), midfielder Alonso Coello ($94,050) and Brandon Servania ($602,710), and forward Prince Owusu ($807,500) — all on the club’s senior roster — expire at the end of 2024 with club options to follow.
While there is more work to do, Hernandez believes TFC is on the right road.
Toronto, which finished last in the league at 4-20-10 in 2023, went into Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus in a playoff position at eighth in the East at 11-15-3.
“By every metric, we are miles ahead of where we were at this point last year,” said Hernandez.
“That’s a low bar, so that’s not saying much,” he added.
But he believes TFC is “quite competitive” when it has all its players at its disposal.
“To get results in this final stretch, we’re going to need our prominent players to really show up and have big performances, and be supported by the rest of the cast.”
After Columbus, TFC plays at Colorado and Chicago and hosts the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami. The club also travels to Vancouver for the Canadian Championship final.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
Mackenzie Hughes might just be what the International team needs as this year’s Presidents Cup.
Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is one of three Canadians on the squad competing in the match-play event at Royal Montreal Golf Club next week.
His putting skills, cool demeanour under pressure, pre-existing connections with teammates and clubhouse leadership could help the team — made up of non-American players outside Europe — end a nine-tournament losing skid to the United States at the biennial event.
“I’ve had this one circled on the calendar for a few years now,” said Hughes on joining fellow Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners as captain’s picks on the 12-player International team. “I pretty much knew that when it was announced the tournament would be in Canada and that Mike Weir was going to be the captain, you pretty much knew where that was going to go.
“To get that call from (Weir) is really special because he’s the guy that I looked up to, we all looked up to, as Canadian golfers.”
Pendrith and Conners are returning to the team after a disappointing 17 1/2 to 12 1/2 loss to the United States at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. in 2022.
Hughes was ranked 14th on the International team standings in 2022 and could have easily been included on that squad after Australia’s Cameron Smith and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann were ruled ineligible after jumping ship to the rival LIV Golf circuit.
However, captain Trevor Immelman of South Africa instead chose the lower ranked Christiaan Bezuidenhout (16th) of South Africa, Pendrith (18th), South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (20th) and Australia’s Cameron Davis (25th).
“I certainly wanted to be on that team but also I understood the picks,” said Hughes, who lives in Charlotte and plays at Quail Hollow regularly. “I think that like a lot of guys that don’t get picked you more so look back on your own play and I wish I had made that selection easier for them.
“I didn’t do myself any favours in the six weeks leading up to it and that’s a hard pill to swallow.”
It may have been a costly oversight on Immelman’s part, as finishing holes was an issue for the International team in 2022 and Hughes is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. This season he’s third in shots gained around the green and fifth in shots gained from putting.
“It doesn’t mean that just because I was there it would have turned the tide, but I’d like to think maybe I could have helped,” said Hughes. “That’s why you play the matches. You have to get out there and do it.”
This year Hughes made it easier for Weir, the Canadian golf legend from Brights Grove, Ont., to choose him. Hughes is 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and has made the cut seven tournaments in a row, including a tie for fourth at last week’s Procore Championship.
“Mac played very solidly all year. Really like his short game, an all-around short game,” said Weir on Sept. 3 after announcing his captain’s picks. “He’s one of the elite and best short game guys on the PGA Tour
“I also love Mac’s grit. So that was the reason I picked him.”
Hughes’s intangible qualities go beyond grit.
He, Pendrith and Conners will arrive at Royal Montreal as a unit within the International squad, having become close friends while playing on Kent State University’s men’s golf team before turning pro. They’re also part of a group of Canadians, including Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., that regularly practice together before PGA Tour events.
“To have those guys with me is really icing on the cake, it’s very special,” said Hughes. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often: to play this kind of team competition, which is already hard to do, but to play with some of your best friends, it almost seems scripted.”
An 11-year professional, Hughes has also been a member of the PGA Tour’s player advisory council the past two years and has been an outspoken advocate for making professional golf more accessible to fans.
Although Weir relied heavily on analytics to make his captain’s selections, Hughes’s character came up again and again when asked why he was named to the team.
“I just have a gut feeling with Mac that he has what it takes in these big moments,” said Weir. “They’re big pressure moments, and I have a feeling he’s going to do great in those moments.”
DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., continues his chase for a spot in the Europe-based DP World Tour’s playoffs. The top 50 players on the Race to Dubai standings make the DP World Tour Championship and Cockerill moved eight spots up to 39th in the rankings after tying for ninth at last week’s Irish Open. He’ll be back at it on Thursday at the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., is ranked 38th on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour’s points list. He leads the Canadian contingent into this week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He’ll be joined at Ohio State University Golf Club — Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio by Edmonton’s Wil Bateman (53rd), Etienne Papineau (65th) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., and Sudarshan Yellamaraju (99th) of Mississauga, Ont.
CHAMPIONS TOUR — Calgary’s Stephen Ames is the lone Canadian at this week’s Pure Insurance Championship. He’s No. 2 on the senior circuit’s points list. The event will start Friday and be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Monterey, Calif.
LPGA TOUR — There are four Canadians in this week’s Kroger City Championship. Savannah Grewal (97th in the Race to CME Globe Rankings) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (115th), and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (142nd) of Sherbrooke, Que., will all tee it up at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
EPSON TOUR — Vancouver’s Leah John is the low Canadian heading into the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She’s 54th in the second-tier tour’s points list. She’ll be joined by Maddie Szeryk (118th) of London, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault (119th) of Rosemere, Que., at Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
