The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in convincing fashion in the April 19 provincial election, securing a historic 40 seats in the 57-seat Legislature, a feat never before accomplished in the modern era. This includes majority wins in the local ridings of Morris, Dawson Trail, Steinbach, and Emerson.
“It’s still sinking in, to be honest,” says Shannon Martin, MLA for Morris, who was first elected in a 2014 by-election. “The results are beyond my expectations, that’s for sure. I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams that we would get 40 seats. Shocking numbers.”
In addition to sweeping victories across rural Manitoba, the PCs broke new ground in Winnipeg, winning in areas they haven’t competed in for decades.
PC Leader and Premier-designate Brian Pallister spoke to a roaring crowd of supporters on election night. “After years of division, we now have an opportunity to build a better future for all Manitobans together,” Pallister said.
Key promises from the PCs included rolling back the PST to seven percent, reducing costs by making government more efficient, and addressing Manitoba’s high debt.
“Our leader put forward a plan that clearly resonated with Manitobans,” says Martin. “[It was] a clear repudiation of 17 and a half years of mediocrity and a campaign of fear led by the NDP. I’m not underestimating the work cut out for us, but I know we have a clear mandate from the people of Manitoba.”
The NDP saw their support collapse in all areas of the province, dropping from 35 seats to 14. On election night, Greg Selinger announced that he would be stepping down as leader of the party.
Despite some promising polling at the start of the campaign, the Manitoba Liberals were unable to secure the breakthroughs they had hoped for. The silver lining is that they were able to increase their representation in the Legislature from one seat to three. Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari placed a disappointing third place in her home riding of Fort Rouge.
“I think the biggest thing Manitobans want is a responsible government that’s going to listen to them,” says John Falk, who ran for the Liberals in Morris. “And they believe the PCs will do that, and keep taxes lower and hopefully spur our economy a little bit. You got to give the PCs credit. They ran, for the most part, a very good campaign. The people of Manitoba wanted change, and they didn’t, obviously, look at the Manitoba Liberal Party as a viable alternative. I think that’s fair, because it’s very much rebuilding now.”
Falk says he is confident that Martin will continue to work hard for the best interests of the riding.
“I give full credit to my wife and my kids and their undying love of their husband and father,” Falk said, in the process of taking down campaign signs. “And my grandkids love me still!”
Martin is excited to get back to work. “There’s 40 MLAs now on the government side to play a role in government,” he says. “I have no doubt that there will be a role for each and every one of us to start this new journey. I’m looking forward to whatever comes my way.”
