The NDP sailed to victory Tuesday night with a solid win that cements leader Wab Kinew as Manitoba’s first First Nations premier and also nets the party enough seats to form a majority government, CBC projects.
NDP Leader Wab Kinew kept the riding of Fort Rouge, the CBC projects.
PC incumbent cabinet ministers Rochelle Squires and James Teitsma will lose their seats in Riel and Radisson, respectively, the CBC projects.
And Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont conceded defeat to NDP candidate Robert Loiselle in St. Boniface.
“Ultimately the people have decided, and sometimes you get caught in a wave, and sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do,” Lamont said. “I know we changed hearts and minds in this election and I also know this isn’t always enough.”
Cindy Lamoureux held onto her seat for the Liberals in Tyndall Park, but longtime Liberal MLA for River Heights Jon Gerrard was taken down by the NDP’s Bob Moroz, CBC projects. Gerrard was first elected in 1999.
Incumbent Mark Wasyliw won his seat for the NDP in Fort Garry, which was the first projection of the night.
“This feels really great. … all the indications we were getting from people were positive,” Wasyliw said. “I think we need to heal Manitoba … think health care has become a symbol of that.”
St. Vital voters have handed the NDP’s Jamie Moses a win, and the NDP’s Diljeet Brar will win the Burrows riding, the CBC projects. Nello Altomare has kept Transcona for the NDP, CBC projects.
Tom Lindsey (Flin Flon) and Eric Redhead (Thompson) in the north, and Adrien Sala (St. James), Lisa Naylor (Wolseley), Nahanni Fontaine (St. Johns), Uzoma Asagwara (Union Station), Mintu Sandhu (The Maples), Matt Wiebe (Concordia), Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas), Malaya Marcelino (Notre Dame), Jelynn Dela Cruz (Radisson), Jim Maloway (Elmwood) and Mike Moyes (Riel) have also scored victories for the NDP in Winnipeg, CBC News projects.
Meanwhile, CBC projects Obby Khan will take Fort Whyte.
Trevor King will take Lakeside and Kelvin Goertzen will hold onto Steinbach for the PCs, while Josh Guenter will win Borderland for the party, CBC News projects.
Doyle Piwniuk also is holding onto his seat for the PCs in Turtle Mountain, and Jodie Byram will win the Agassiz riding, the CBC projects. Grant Jackson (Spruce Woods), Carrie Hiebert (Morden-Winkler), Konrad Narth (La Vérendrye), Jeff Bereza (Portage la Prairie), Greg Nesbitt (Riding Mountain), Rick Wowchuk (Swan River) and Ron Schuler (Springfield-Ritchot) will also win for the Progressive Conservatives, according to CBC projections.
A record 200,790 Manitobans — nearly a quarter of all eligible voters — cast ballots in advance polls, Elections Manitoba said.
In 2019, about 112,814 advance votes were cast — the next-highest number on record. That election saw a 55 per cent turnout.
If Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson is voted in at the end of the day, she becomes the first woman elected as premier of Manitoba. If Wab Kinew is elected, he becomes Manitoba’s first First Nations premier.
The PCs rose to power in 2016 under then-premier Brian Pallister.
Stefanson won a hotly contested PC leadership campaign against rival Shelly Glover in fall 2021 after Pallister resigned.
In the two weeks ahead of election day, two polls — one by Angus Reid and another by Probe Research — put the NDP ahead with a six- and then 11-point percentage lead, respectively.
After the Kirkfield Park byelection last year, the PCs held 36 seats to the NDP’s 18, and the Liberals had three — one seat short of official party status.
The winning party needs at least 29 seats to form a majority government.
Lawrence Toet, a former Conservative MP and director of stakeholder relations for the Progressive Conservative campaign, said the PCs were feeling confident heading into the night.
“We know it’s going to be a tough battle, but we’ve done the work,” he said at the PC election night headquarters at the Canad Inns Fort Garry location on Pembina Highway.
Meanwhile, Cheryl Oates, who helped work on the Manitoba NDP campaign, said the NDP has done well at focusing on what Manitobans care about.
“I have been so impressed with this campaign’s ability to really listen to people,” she said at Winnipeg’s Fort Garry Hotel.