Manitoba cabinet minister Scott Fielding resigns from government

Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development Minister Scott Fielding is stepping down and leaving government.

Fielding, who also serves as the minister responsible for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries and is the MLA for Kirkfield Park, is leaving to pursue opportunities in the private sector, Premier Heather Stefanson said in a news release on Monday.

"My time in politics has been incredibly rewarding, but after 15 years as both a provincial cabinet minister and city councillor, it is time to take on a new challenge and opportunity," Fielding said.

Monday is his last day in office as a cabinet minister. He will bow out as MLA within the next two weeks.

Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Alan Lagimodiere will take over Fielding's portfolios on an interim basis until a replacement is named.

"I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to Scott Fielding for his dedication and over seven years of service as a cabinet member working to improve the lives of all Manitobans," Stefanson said in the news release.

Major roles in PC's cabinet

Fielding was first elected in 2016, and previously served as families minister and later as finance minister.

He was in charge of Manitoba's books when the government successfully overcame a deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars. The province balanced the budget for a short time before the pandemic necessitated new spending, including several pandemic relief programs, such as periodic grants to business owners.

During his tenure as a finance minister, Fielding also followed through on a signature Tory election pledge of cutting the PST to seven per cent.

He briefly toyed with the idea of running for the PC leadership when former premier Brian Pallister resigned in 2021. 

Before running provincially, Fielding was the Winnipeg city councillor for the St. James-Brooklands ward from 2006 to 2014. He spent five of those years as a member of former mayor Sam Katz's executive policy committee. 

His time as council finance chair served as a prelude to his work as a provincial finance minister.

Fielding quit EPC one year before he left council, citing "unprecedented mismanagement" of the city by Katz.

He declined media interviews on Monday.

Plunging popularity

Christopher Adams, adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said many political observers expected government MLAs to start resigning, given the declining popularity of the Progressive Conservative Party.

"[Fielding] probably looked into the future, like somebody does about his or her career, saw that it's likely the PCs won't hold power after the 2023 election," Adams said. "We might see a few others do so within the coming year."

A similar scenario swept through the NDP before they were ousted from power in 2016.

New Probe Research numbers are expected to be released soon and they will likely reveal continued misfortune for the PCs, he said.

"The polling numbers are not looking very good … most particularly in Winnipeg where they're more than 20 [percentage] points behind the NDP," Adams said, noting the city and its surrounding bedroom communities make up more than half of seats in the provincial assembly.

Although Fielding's seat did belong to the NDP at one time, it has been a rather safe one for the PCs — he won 53 per cent of the vote in the 2016 election and 50 per cent in 2019.

It is likely one that would stay with the party but perhaps the notion of being a member of the Opposition rather than governing party wasn't so appealing to Fielding, Adams suggested.

He said Fielding, who has held senior positions as an MLA and whose name has surfaced as a party leadership contender, will be valued by many entities in the private sector.

As for his constituents?

"People might say it's too early, he shouldn't have jumped, that he's leaving people in the lurch in his riding," Adams said.

"But I would say that you can look at it a different way, that by him stepping down now we're going to see a byelection before the next provincial election … [and] they'll probably win."

That, in turn, gives the PCs a head-start ahead of the October 2023 provincial election, with constituents getting to know the new member. 

Provincial bylaws require a byelection to take place within six months of a seat becoming vacant, unless a general election happens first.

Adams expects Fielding to be remembered as a competent politician and someone who likely won't be out of the spotlight for too long.

"I think there will be people who will be looking for him to run again, if not provincially then maybe federally, in the coming years."