'A bellwether riding': Kirkfield Park race may set stage for next provincial election

Four candidates are making one final push ahead of Tuesday’s byelection in Winnipeg’s Kirkfield Park.

“I’ve heard so much on the doorsteps about what it is they’d like to see in terms of change and I’d love to deliver that for them,” NDP candidate Logan Oxenham told CTV News.

Healthcare has been top of mind for those looking to become the constituency’s next MLA.

"I couldn’t just stand back anymore and watch anymore what’s been happening to the public. It’s not just working in the system, it’s the public that have truly been suffering,” Liberal candidate Rhonda Nichol, a nurse with 33 years experience, said.

Green Party candidate Dennis Bayomi says while healthcare is a major priority, he’s more concerned about climate change.

"A lot of folks we talked to are tired of the old parties and old ideas, so they’re ready for a change and a green voice would be exactly what some of them are looking for,” Bayomi said.

Former city councillor Kevin Klein, the PC hopeful, said he would address crime in the area.

"I'm really focused in on the residents that I serve. I'm really focused on the needs, values, and expectations if you will, of the residents of Kirkfield Park,” Klein said.

Christopher Adams, adjunct professor of political studies at U of M, said it could be a close race between the PCs, NDP, and Liberal parties.

"I'd say all three parties have a very strong reason to be in this election and to work very hard to win it,” Adams told CTV News.

Adams said each party is looking for a strong showing on Tuesday.

"In this case, as a bellwether riding, we would see it as a predictor of how things go in the October 2023 election."

However, he anticipates only about one-third of eligible voters will turn out.

"If the byelection shows a certain thing, you have to be cautious with that because all the people showing up to vote at a byelection is not all the people that will be showing up for a general election."

The four candidates are vying to fill the seat left vacant after Natural Resources Minister Scott Fielding resigned from Premier Heather Stefanson’s cabinet in June and announced his departure from politics.