Manitoba NDP leader promises to reveal platform costs, takes shot at Liberals

The NDP’s Wab Kinew, who has already hinted at tax increases on high-income individuals and corporations, said Wednesday he will spell out exactly how he will pay for his promises long before the Sept. 10 provincial election. (File Photo: Wab Kinew/Facebook)

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s Opposition leader is promising he will release a fully costed campaign platform in contrast with the province’s third-party Liberals.

The NDP’s Wab Kinew, who has already hinted at tax increases on high-income individuals and corporations, said Wednesday he will spell out exactly how he will pay for his promises long before the Sept. 10 provincial election.

“We’ll do it early on in the campaign too,” Kinew said.

“We want to show Manitobans that we are the real alternative to (Premier Brian) Pallister and that we’re ready to govern.”

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said Tuesday he would not commit to releasing a fully costed platform, partly because, if elected, he would review all taxes and later decide which ones to raise or lower. Lamont also said he does not trust budget numbers currently being used by the Progressive Conservative government.

Both the Liberals and NDP have opposed the government’s cost cuts since the Tories were elected in 2016 on a promise to balance the budget and cut the provincial sales tax. The Tories have closed some hospital emergency rooms, frozen public-sector wages and cut subsidies for things ranging from public housing to sleep-apnea machines.

Kinew said last year that if he were elected premier, he would consider raising taxes on high-income earners and large corporations to help pay to reverse some of the Tory cuts.

He took a few apparent shots at the Liberals on Wednesday, including a reference to the last election when several candidates had to drop out of the race, mostly over last-minute nomination papers that were not filled out correctly.

In an email to Liberal supporters Tuesday, Lamont said his party is better prepared than ever for this campaign.

“We are recruiting and nominating excellent candidates across the province, putting the best team together to make Pallister a one-term premier,” the email read.

An early opinion poll suggests the Tories had the support of 42 per cent of decided and leaning voters compared with 26 per cent for the NDP, 16 per cent for the Liberals and 14 per cent for the Green Party. Fifteen per cent of respondents were undecided.

The survey by Probe Research Inc. was commissioned by the Winnipeg Free Press and involved 1,000 people who responded via telephone and online. It was done between June 4 and 17. Probe said the results provincewide have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.