Federal party leaders visit Manitoba ahead of June double by-election
With two Federal by-elections around the corner in Manitoba, party leaders hit the campaign trail to appeal to voters in Portage-Lisgar and Winnipeg South Centre.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre made stops in both ridings Friday to support their candidates.
Poilievre is trying to win a seat away from the Liberals, and keep one in the fold. "Even in Liberal strongholds like this one, people are frustrated with and disappointed with Justin Trudeau," he said at a stop in Winnipeg South Centre.
Trudeau visited Winnipeg last week in support of Liberal candidate Ben Carr, son of former seat holder Jim Carr – who died of cancer in December. Carr is up against Conservative Damir Stipanovic.
University of Manitoba political science professor Chris Adams said there is a chance the traditionally Liberal seat could flip. "The conservatives have held that seat a couple of terms ago," Adams said. It's not a riding to ignore."
With a visit scheduled for Portage-Lisgar as well, Poilievre is trying to hold a Conservative stronghold with candidate Brandon Leslie.
Leader Maxime Bernier is the People's Party of Canada (PPC) candidate there, trying to get his party elected to parliament for the first time.
During the last federal election, the far-right PPC finished second in the riding with 22 per cent of the vote, attracting support in part from people frustrated with pandemic restrictions.
Poilievre said voting for the PPC will split the conservative vote. "We are the only common sense party with a chance to win," he said in Portage-Lisgar. "There's one more thing that Justin Trudeau and Maxime Bernier have in common, if you vote for either of them you'll end up with a Liberal government."
With pandemic restrictions gone and Poilievre taking the conservatives more to the right, Adams thinks Bernier could have an uphill battle.
"There is a feeling Maxime Bernier is not, really doesn't have much of a chance," he said.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was also in the province Friday, campaigning in both ridings.
"I'm here to meet our candidates in the by-election always here to listen to what people are saying," said Singh.
History is against the NDP in both races, but that isn't stopping its leader.
"I never shy away from a tough battle, that's just who I am," Singh said. "When there's a tough battle, I'll show up and I want people to know we have something to offer them.
The Green Party put out a news release Friday saying leader Elizabeth May will visit the city to support her candidate in Winnipeg South Centre.
Voters head to the polls in both by-elections on June 19th.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.