'I see great opportunity for Manitoba': Pallister speaks for the first time since announcing resignation as premier

WINNIPEG -

A day after announcing plans to leave the Premier’s office on Wednesday, Brian Pallister said stepping down was one of the hardest decisions he has ever had to make.

Pallister talked about the decision at Brandon University on Monday morning following a scholarship announcement.

“I think it’s time to move on for the good of my family and I think that Manitobans deserve the chance to know who is going to be their premier,” Pallister said. “I’ve seen past leaders trying to hang on for too long sometimes and I don’t want to be one of those.”

Pallister said he’s leaving office before a new PC party leader is elected because he doesn’t want to jeopardize the process, and didn’t want to comment on a leadership contest because he thinks neutrality must exist.

“The last thing I want to see is division with the PC party in Manitoba that would hurt them in their recovery and ability to focus on governing.”

Pallister also said the decision was challenging because “this is a time to rebuild” the province following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I love to build and I see great opportunity for Manitoba,” Pallister said.

He said he thinks Manitoba will be a leader in Canada’s economic recovery.

“I think we helped set the stage for that with some of the tough decisions we’ve made over the last half-decade,” he said. “I’m proud of that.”

When asked if he regretted how the province handled the pandemic, Pallister said they “should have gone harder,” on public health order enforcement sooner and that the message wasn’t clear enough.

He said before the pandemic, few Manitobans had ever faced the kinds of restrictions and rules put in place.

“It’s understandable it would be a hard adjustment for people to accept those restrictions.”

During the scholarship announcement, he said he hopes Manitobans reflect positively on how the province handled the pandemic.

“We’ll look back and say we were proud of what we did, to rise to the challenge, to face the challenge head on, and to do the best we could with the assets he had.”

Pallister believes he still has a lot to offer, but thinks it’s time for the province to move forward.

“I know there are no easy decisions in life and this is one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make.”

Pallister is expected to hold a final caucus meeting before leaving the Premier’s office.

He said he will stay on as a legislature member for a short time and the PC caucus will choose an interim leader.

The Manitoba PC Party will select a new leader on October 30.