Annual state of the province speech in Manitoba takes on election campaign tone
Annual state of the province speech in Manitoba takes on election campaign tone
WINNIPEG -
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson delivered her annual state of the province speech Thursday with a bit more partisan messaging than usual.
The annual speech to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce traditionally involves a premier going over their accomplishments of the past year and focusing on economic development before a business crowd.
Stefanson touched on those, but also said the provincial election slated for next October will be a choice between two very different visions for Manitoba on issues such as crime.
"A decision between a party that has no plan to keep your family safer at home or at work, or a team with a clearly defined plan to reduce crime," Stefanson told the roughly 1,000 people in attendance.
Stefanson also accused the Opposition New Democrats of favouring tax hikes, the defunding of police and high debt loads at Crown-owned Manitoba Hydro.
She also said a NDP government would lead to longer wait times for surgeries because the NDP opposes using private health-care providers to cut waiting lists.
Stefanson later told reporters she felt the need to include some partisan contrasts.
"I think that it's time to show Manitobans the difference between the Opposition NDP and ourselves. I think maybe that message isn't getting out there enough."
NDP Leader Wab Kinew said Stefanson needs to look elsewhere to assess blame.
"The speech we heard today acknowledged that there is a crisis in health care, with crime, with the cost of living," Kinew said. "And all this has happened under (former premier) Brian Pallister and Heather Stefanson's watch."
Kinew also denied the accusations levelled against his party. He said it's not true, for example, that the NDP favours defunding police.
"The police have an important role to play," he said, while adding that more money for housing and other services could help address the root causes of crime.
Stefanson took over the Progressive Conservative leadership in the fall of 2021, and the Tories have continued to lag behind the NDP in opinion polls.
The Tories won two consecutive majority governments, but saw their poll numbers drop after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Manitoba has recorded the second-highest per capita COVID-related death rate among provinces, data compiled by the federal government says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2022.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Police have released a video of a driver who smashed a vehicle through the doors of Vaughan, Ont. mall early Wednesday before allegedly breaking into an electronics store.
The federal government is expected to introduce a law as early as Thursday to delay the extension of medically assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder.
Connor Bedard has arrived in Calgary ahead of what's expected to be a completely full Scotiabank Saddledome when the Calgary Hitmen and Regina Pats square off.
Public Safety Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces were caught off guard by a request for help from Saskatchewan during the height of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A problem at the Espanola Water Treatment Plant allowed improperly treated water to enter the system Tuesday night, exposing residents to possible illness.
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service officials are encouraging any local victims to come forward following the arrest of actor Nathan Lee Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on sex assault charges.
A second key player of Alberta's last government revealed their landing spot on Wednesday: former premier Jason Kenney is joining Bennett Jones' Calgary office.
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service officials are encouraging any local victims to come forward following the arrest of actor Nathan Lee Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on sex assault charges.
Calgarians considering celebrating Valentine's Day with a meal at a local eatery have plenty to choose from, including nine named among the most romantic in Canada.
A second key player of Alberta's last government revealed their landing spot on Wednesday: former premier Jason Kenney is joining Bennett Jones' Calgary office.
A private high school west of Montreal is promising to make changes, following allegations that administrators for years ignored complaints about racist bullying targeting two Black students.
While crews have resumed operations in an attempt to open the Rideau Canal Skateway for its 53rd season, an NCC spokesperson tells CTV News Ottawa the canal will not open in time for the first weekend of Winterlude on Friday.
Two weeks before Valentine's Day, OpenTable has released a list of the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in Canada for 2023, based on more than one million reviews by OpenTable diners.
A new 911 dispatch system in New Brunswick means that now fire departments aren’t getting dispatched to all medical calls leaving residents waiting and first responders in the dark.
More than eight years after announcing the program, the Nova Scotia government has a signed a $365-million, 10-year deal with a health technology company to digitize patients' medical records, Health Minister Michelle Thompson said Wednesday.
A hearing is underway to determine if Udo Haan is not criminally responsible for the death of his wife Edra Haan, who was found in the aftermath of the 2018 house explosion in Kitchener, Ont.
Chief Mark Crowell made a presentation at a council meeting Wednesday justifying the proposed $214 million budget for the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS).
A B.C. man who stabbed his wife in the back was acquitted of aggravated assault after a judge found he was likely to have been "effectively asleep" at the time.
A homicide investigation is underway on Quadra Island, B.C., after a 39-year old woman was found dead in what investigators believe was a targeted killing.
Alberta's former chief medical officer of health has landed a new role in British Columbia. Dr. Deena Hinshaw was named a deputy provincial health officer for B.C. on Wednesday.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's optimistic about next week's meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers about health-care funding.
