Manitobans heading to the polls next month

Sep 05, 2023

Farms.com will highlight ag in party platforms as they become available

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Manitobans will head to voting booths next month for the province’s 43^rd general election.

Voting day is Oct. 3, and Premier Heather Stefanson is expected to officially make the election call on Tuesday, multiple outlets report.

This will be Stefanson’s first election as PC Manitoba leader after taking over from Brian Pallister following his retirement.

For the PCs, they’ll be looking to hold onto the majority government the party earned in 2019 with 36 seats.

Wab Kinew and the Manitoba NDP formed the official opposition with 18 seats in 2019. Dougald Lamont and the Manitoba Liberal Party won three seats but fell one short of official party status.

Party platforms are not yet available on the provincial PC, NDP or Liberal party sites.

But once they are, Farms.com will comb through the documents to let Manitoba producers know how each party plans to support the ag sector.

Derek Johnson, the MLA for Interlake-Gimli and current minister of agriculture will be looking to hold onto the seat he’s held since 2016.

And Diljeet Brar, the NDP’s ag critic, won his seat in Burrows since 2019.

Recent polling suggests this election could be a close one between Stefanson and Kinew’s parties.

“Province-wide, 41 per cent of decided voters would cast ballots for Premier Heather Stefanson and the PCs, - up three points since March 2023 and six points since December 2022,” June 2023 data from Probe Research says. “Support for Wab Kinew’s NDP, meanwhile, has slid three points since March (41 per cent down from 44 per cent).”

Video: Canada's Agriculture Day 2025

Let's celebrate Canadian agriculture.

Well, number one, you don't eat without farmers. Farmers put food on the table. And what could be more important than that?

Well, I think it's important that Canadians understand exactly what takes place, what happens to produce this food, no matter what sector you're talking about.

An awful lot of work goes into that. It's important to understand that meat does not come out of a showcase, and milk does not come out of a bottle. It's produced by farmers and hard work.

Canada has the best farmers in the world. And agriculture is vital to Canada.

In 2024, our agriculture and agri-food sector represented $150 billion of Canada's GDP, nearly $100 billion of our exports, and one in nine jobs.

From grains to fruits to dairy and beef, we are truly blessed with an incredible bounty. Having spent my whole life in agriculture, I see so much potential for the sector.

This time last year, I was proud to open our first-ever agriculture and trade office in the Indo-Pacific, the world’s fastest-growing economy, to cement our presence in the region and grow our exports even more. We've also been making historic investments to help our farmers to boost their yields, protect the planet, and earn a fair living.

The world wants more top-quality, sustainable food, and I know our Canadian farmers can deliver. And it's so important that you do that with pride. We need you.

Quite simply, you eat the most top quality food in the world. You do that because of the quality of farmers and ranchers you have in this country.

Just say thank you to a farmer or a rancher. They work very hard, yes, for a living, but also with a sense of pride in what they produce.

That's what Canada's Agriculture Day is all about.