Brian Pallister’s Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in the provincial election
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Manitobans opted for another four years of conservative leadership in the province.
Premier-elect Brian Pallister’s Progressive Conservative party won its second consecutive majority in Manitoba’s general election Tuesday, capturing 36 of 57 seats. A party needs 29 seats to form a majority government.
The NDP, led by Wab Kinew, took 18 seats and will form the official opposition, while Dougald Lamont’s Liberals won three seats.
The victory is an example of Manitobans showing their support for progress, Pallister said.
“Forward to balanced budgets. Forward to better care, and sooner. Forward to new schools for our children and grandchildren. Forward to a stronger economy for all of us. And forward to more affordability for families, with lower taxes,” he said during his acceptance speech.
From an ag perspective, farmers will have the same representative at Manitoba Agriculture.
Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler won his riding of Lakeside by more than 4,300 votes compared to NDP candidate Dan Rugg.
Now that the election is over, ag organizations look forward to working with the new government on policy issues.
Prior to the election, Pallister announced that a re-elected conservative government will increase ethanol requirements from five per cent to 10 per cent in 2020.
More discussions on that item need to take place, said Bill Campbell, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.
“We need to look at how increased ethanol levels will impact primary agriculture and how that program would be delivered,” he told Farms.com. “We’re looking forward to working together with Premier-elect Pallister’s government to move Manitoba agriculture forward.”
Pallister also promised his government would create more jobs.
Manitoba could add 40,000 jobs in four years, he announced as part of his Manitoba Works Jobs Growth plan.
Where those jobs are matter, Campbell said.
“Some of those jobs are to be based out of Brandon, which is a rural area,” he said. “We need to ensure agriculture is moving forward and that the province has a long-term vision and outlook for the industry.”