Manitoba government needs to do better job of highlighting accomplishments: premier
Ian Froese | CBC News | Posted: January 11, 2023 11:01 PM | Last Updated: January 12, 2023
'A lot of people maybe don't know who I am and what I'm achieving here in Manitoba,' says Heather Stefanson
While she calls poll numbers suggesting her Progressive Conservatives lag in popularity "meaningless," Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson says she recognizes her government has to do a better job selling itself.
"I think a lot of people maybe don't know who I am and what I'm achieving here in Manitoba," she said in a one-on-one interview Wednesday with CBC News.
"From a communication standpoint, we've got to work toward getting those messages out on all the things that we have achieved over this last year, which has been really exciting.
"I think a lot of people don't know about them, though."
Stefanson's hopes for re-election in a vote that must happen by Oct. 3 of this year hang on winning over the Manitobans who appear to have abandoned the Tories since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Her government's efforts over the past year to do that have included a promised $200 million to recruit and retain health-care workers, cheques sent to families reeling from high inflation, the launch of a new police unit to target violent criminals and a funding boost for organizations that run homeless shelters.
Working to let Manitobans 'see who I am'
Those initiatives, however, have yet to make a serious dent on public perception, according to public opinion polls.
A Probe Research poll released last month suggested the Opposition NDP held a commanding 28 percentage point lead in Winnipeg over the governing PCs.
Stefanson didn't assign blame for why her government's messaging isn't coming across, but said it has been one of her greatest challenges to address since taking the reins as premier.
Her office said she's attended nearly 100 community events since replacing Brian Pallister as Manitoba's premier in late 2021, but Stefanson acknowledged she must spend more time in the community to highlight her government's accomplishments.
"I need to get that message out a little bit more to Manitobans. That's OK. That's a good thing," she said.
"Once people see who I am, [they'll see] I genuinely love this province, I genuinely love the people who are here, and I want to do what's in their best interest. That's what I'm all about."
WATCH | Premier says not enough Manitobans know of government successes:
The premier said she doesn't give the latest poll findings a lot of weight. It was her party, she said, that won two Winnipeg byelections last year, albeit narrowly and in seats that tend to elect Tory MLAs.
She said she would rather direct her attention to economic growth, improving health care and making downtown Winnipeg safe than focus on what polls say.
"I'm not going to focus on numbers that are meaningless, frankly."
Seeing people living in bus shelters 'not right'
Stefanson also said her government would continue to follow a recovery-centred approach to helping people experiencing mental health and addiction challenges.
More financial support is coming for walk-in addictions clinics, she said, and her government is following through on its pledge to create 1,000 addiction treatment spaces.
"I don't want to see, and I don't think Manitobans want to see, people living in bus shelters. It's not right," she said.
Addressing that calls for a "two-pronged" and "balanced" approach "that is helping those individuals with a hand up to help them move out of that," she said.
But that approach also has to ensure Winnipeg's "streets are safe for Manitoba families so that they are more likely to come downtown," said Stefanson, whose government, however, is still opposing supervised injection sites.
Her government has been quick to respond when it realizes services are lacking, she said, citing a $3-million grant in December for food banks struggling to fund their operations.
She also hopes to help Manitobans financially through a tax working group she struck last year. Its findings are expected to be revealed in the spring budget.
Stefanson wouldn't speculate about those proposals, but said the group is working to make Manitoba competitive "across the board."
"When we're looking to attract investment to Manitoba, not everyone's just looking at taxation," she said. "They're looking [at], 'Do they have a vibrant arts community? Do they have things for us to be able to go to?'"
Stefanson said Manitobans should look to her party to fix the health-care system, which is ailing across the country.
"First and foremost, we've put Manitoba patients first," she said, pointing to the work of the province's wait-list task force.
It's focused on finding ways to reduce the number of people waiting for surgeries and diagnostic procedures while local capacity is built so that Manitoba doesn't have to send patients elsewhere for care in the future.
"We are putting together, I think, a plan that is short-, medium-, long-term to addressing the major challenges that are taking place."