Shannon Martin enters Manitoba PC leadership race, positions himself on left side of 3-candidate field
MLA promises supervised consumption site, treaty acknowledgements and climate change mitigation
A Tory backbencher who criticized former Manitoba Progressive Conservative leader Brian Pallister has entered the race to replace him as leader of the party and premier.
McPhillips MLA Shannon Martin launched his campaign for PC leader on Monday with a package of promises that places him to the left of competitors Heather Stefanson and Shelly Glover.
Like his competitors, Martin pledged to be more inclusive than Pallister — but provided more policy specifics than longtime Tuxedo MLA Stefanson or former Conservative MP Glover did at their respective launches.
"We haven't always consulted you before making the necessary and important decisions. We haven't always listened to your requests for help, and I'm here to tell you that will change and we're going to do better," Martin said inside a garage at Bayview Construction in the RM of Macdonald, just southwest of Winnipeg.
Martin has represented the constituency of McPhillips since 2019. Before that, he was the MLA for Morris, first winning a byelection in 2014.
Earlier this summer, Martin tweeted support for former Indigenous and northern relations minister Eileen Clarke after she resigned over Pallister's alienation of the Indigenous community.
Martin said his first priority will be to work toward reconciliation with Indigenous people in Manitoba and pledged to make treaty acknowledgements part of Manitoba Legislature proceedings.
He declined to say what specific policies he would pursue to further reconciliation, a goal Stefanson and Glover also pledged to pursue.
"It is not for me to define what a solution looks like to Indigenous communities, but it is my commitment to work with the leadership of those communities to seek those solutions part and parcel of it," he said.
Unlike his competitors, Martin said he'd support a supervised consumption site in Winnipeg, something Mayor Brian Bowman has long lobbied the province to consider.
"All the evidence suggests that safe consumption sites are a part of a full drug-reduction and addiction strategy. It is not the only piece, but it is part of the piece, and we can no longer afford to ignore a reality in our own communities," he said.
Martin also pledged to improve mental-health services in Manitoba, partly by placing more counsellors in schools.
He pledged to develop a water-retention strategy to protect against future floods and also said he would work with the federal government in climate-change policy.
Martin also repeated earlier pledges to support Manitoba public health officials in their recommendations about pandemic management. He also pledged to support better ventilation in schools to protect kids from COVID-19.
Martin did not directly address suggestions he is only running for PC leader and premier to increase his visibility, obtain a cabinet position in a Glover or Stefanson government and stake out a claim to the party nomination in the Midland constituency, which includes the RM of Macdonald.
"The best thing about being underestimated is proving them wrong," he said, insisting he is serious about running for premier.
Martin said he chose a Macdonald location simply because the proprietors of Bayview Construction are longtime friends.
"Everything you do in politics is strategy and tactics," he said.
Martin acknowledged some of his policies may not prove popular among his party's rural base, which tends to be more socially conservative.
"Part of being a leader and especially part of this leadership race because you're not only becoming leader of the PC party of Manitoba, but you're becoming the premier," he said. "I thought it was incumbent and I believe it is incumbent upon all leadership candidates to make sure that they are sharing their vision with Manitobans."
He has already attracted some support from Manitobans who have never been a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Lisa Webinger, a Winnipegger who has never been a member of any party, said she spent $20 to join the PCs in order to support Martin.
"This government is going to be in place for another year and a half to two years and so I wanted to make sure I have my voice heard," said Webinger.
"Shannon has a more moderate tone to him. He's come out in support of science. We're still in the middle of the pandemic and Mr. Martin has stated he will follow the guidelines and that he will follow the recommendations of our medical professionals."
Martin said he is close to signing up the 1,000 members he needs in order to meet the Sept. 15 deadline to wind up on the ballot for PC leader. Candidates must also pass through a party screening and pay a $25,000 entry fee.
PC members will chose a new leader on Oct. 30 in a one-member, one-ballot vote.
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