Let's build a legacy!

The contest to become Manitoba's Leader of the Official Opposition and possibly the next Premier of the province should not go uncontested.

Given that Dan Lett's and my laments on the lack of candidates in the current PC leadership race haven`t inspired any challengers to step up, I have decided to take the drastic step of officially unofficially declaring my candidacy for the leadership of Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party.

(Of course given that I am now a resident of Ontario, have in no way shape or form any financial or organisational resources, or have the permission of my chief of staff (i.e. my better-half) to do this, it shouldn't be too much of a problem right?)

So let's get this thing started! Let's start building a legacy for this great province!  Manitoba needs to do better and will only do so with a striving, healthy democracy!

As much as the NDP may now believe it is their natural right to govern this province, that it is okay to curry favour and cut the line for Jets tickets for their friends, together we can show them that one has to earn and respect the privilege to govern!

Together we can work confidently towards 2015 knowing that last fall 46% of Manitobans believed it was time for change and believed in our Party's vision.

We need to unleash and harness the power of Manitoba's diversified economy, bridge the divides between our rural, urban and northern communities, and transform our health care system to ensure that the growing needs of patients take precedence over those of bureaucrats.

Over the next few weeks, I will roll out policy issues that I hope, my esteemed opponent will engage in so that the Party can benefit from some grassroots debate on the future of this province. Together let's build a legacy for the party, a legacy for our province and a legacy for our children!

Manitoba needs to aim higher… higher than one…

Manitoba’s opposition parties need to aim higher. 

Pallister’s slogan to “Aim Higher” is particularly apt to today’s lackluster state of provincial politics.  Over the past few days I had been thinking that the PC leadership race really needed to have more than one candidate.  So today, I was really happy to please that Dan Lett at the Free Press had tackled this specific issue.

The Progressive Conservatives Party needs to aim for a greater number of candidates in its leadership race. As Dan pointed out, it is impossible to talk about a grassroots renewal with simply one candidate.

The 1000 membership rule could have been a great renewal tool and encourage a greater number of candidates, if it had been implemented differently.  A two-step process should have been instituted in its place.

Rather than make selling a thousand memberships across the province a requirement for becoming a certified candidate, and thus be allowed to spend and raise money. The rule should have been put in place as a final requirement to appear on the ballot for the convention. Candidates should have been able to become certified candidates with 50 party members supporting them.

This would have made it easier for a lesser known candidate to step up, start raising money and a media presence in order to reach that 1000 membership threshold; thus enabling a real grassroots renewal.  Less known candidates would have been able to publicly raise money and use the longer leadership period to their advantage.

The Liberal Party of Manitoba needs to aim for more than a couple dozen people to vote on the future of the party. The Party “grassroots” voted 25 to 17 to reject formal talks of merger with the greens.  While the party said it still has 1000 paid members, the fact that less people that come to my family Christmas party voted on the future of the party speaks volumes.  

The Liberals are in a dangerous position of being replaced by the Greens as the third place party.  Green Leader James Beddome proved himself a capable communicator during the last campaign and if the new Liberal leader fails to articulate a clear ‘raison d’être’ for the party, I wouldn’t be surprised if in the 2015 election there are no Liberals on the ballot.

If Manitoba’s opposition parties fail to get it right, the province risks becoming a one-party province like Alberta.  Let’s hope they don’t fail so that Manitobans can have the choice of aiming for something more than a higher deficit and higher taxes…. 

Manitoba Budget 2012: A hair affair?

The budget: a trim and highlights to cover up hair loss?

I was trying to think of the proper analogy to describe my reaction to the 2012 budget. The best thing (or funniest) that came to mind was that of a bad haircut; a haircut for man who is fighting a receding hairline and is having difficulty accepting it. 

Think of a haircut composed of highlights, a trim and styled with spikes even though the hair on top of the head is way too thin and is practically see through…That kind of bad... 

The highlights are the distracting goodies that try to scream of coolness, rejuvenation and 'being with the times'. This is what the announced extension to Sunday shopping hours was, an attempt to take attention away and pose itself as an innovative, "moving Manitoba forward" budget.

The trim and spikes, are the merger of MLCC and Lotteries and Regional Health Authorities.  In addition, just as a superficial trim and style change doesn't change or address the problem, the administrative efficiencies brought by these mergers will bring along only superficial savings and do nothing to address the problem.

Finally, the gas tax and various fee increases are the equivalent of spraying Rogaine. Just as this magical spray claims it will make up the difference in loss hair instantly, these small increases do nothing to get at the root of the problem (pun intended).

While the new haircut might help the person in question feel better about themselves and stay in denial, everyone else around can see the sad reality the man is trying to hide. In reality, Mr. Struthers and the NDP should come to accept their receding hairline and either go bald or try some of the new hair transplant ads I keep seeing in browser…     

Coming back shortly!

Hi everyone,

After a hiatus of about a year or so, I will start blogging again soon. Work, the Action Canada Fellowship and school didn't leave me with enough time to blog. I'm two weeks away from finishing my master's degree and should  have enough time to blog again!

With the upcoming PC and Liberal provincial leadership race, provincial budget, the federal Lib race and plenty of other issues I hope to be back around the mid-April mark.

Cheers,
Patrick

Action Canada Public Dialogues on Inequality, Green Energy and Creativity

Since April I have been a fellow with the Action Canada program. Action Canada is a national fellowship that offers leadership development for early-career professionals with an interest in public policy through cross-country conferences that enhance an understanding of Canada and public policy choices for our future. Fellows are chosen from all sectors, including business, science, government, academia and the professions.

Part of the program includes preparing a Task Force Report and public dialogue on a public policy issue facing Canada today. This year, Action Canada is hosting its public dialogue on November 4 at the University of Winnipeg's Convocation Hall from 7:30 to 12:30. Throughout the morning, three diverse panels of experts will address three public policy issues.


Panel 1: Prospering Together: How inequality and poverty are jeopardizing Canada’s human capital potential and economic future

The first panel will examine the potential for rising inequality and persistent poverty to undermine Canada’s prosperity in the knowledge-based economy. Since the 1980s, the top 20% of Canadian income earners have seen $27,000 added to their average incomes, while the incomes of the bottom 60% have essentially remained stagnant. Income inequality is rising faster in Canada than it is in the United States, by far the most unequal advanced economy in the world. Inequality and poverty are associated with a number of social problems that threaten full economic participation, including poor health and literacy, as well as economic segregation. This panel will explore the issues as well as policy recommendations that enhance human capital formation by reducing inequality and poverty – to harness the potential of the entire population in the drive to make Canada a leader in the knowledge-based economy. http://www.prosperingtogether.ca

Panelists:
Armine Yalnizyan
Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Jim Milway
Executive Director, Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity

John Curtis
Professor, Queen’s University

Panel 2: New Ideas for financing Canada’s low-carbon energy future

The second panel will address the future financing of Canada’s low-carbon energy. As global energy demand continues to rise, high-carbon fuels such as oil and coal will become scarce, which, combined with climate change, will drastically increase the cost of energy. But considering that cleantech is an expensive venture, how can it be financed? This dialogue seeks to explore these issues.

Panelists:
Elizabeth Huculak
Vice-President, World Alliance for Decentralized Energy Canada (WADE) and founder E5 Projects

Tom Rand
Advisor at MaRS; Author of “Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit, 10 Clean Technologies to Save Their World”

Franz Tattenbach
President and CEO of the International Institute for International Development; former negotiator and climate change ambassador for Costa Rica at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)

Alex Wood
Senior Director of Policy and Markets, Sustainable Prosperity and former acting CEO and President of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).


Panel 3: Our Home and Creative Land: Developing Canada’s Creative Workforce for Tomorrow

The third task force is examining the question of how to train Canadian workers to be more creative. Creativity is the genesis of innovations across all sectors when developing new ideas, products and services. The ability to further leverage the economic potential of those innovations will increase prosperity in Canada. This project examines how a national training program that enhances creative skills can be developed and delivered for Canada’s workforce. For more information you can visit www.creativecanadians.com

Panelists:

Dave Angus
President and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce

Catherine Graham
Author and founder of CMG Creativity

Alan Freeman

British economist and visiting fellow at the University of Manitoba

Mary Corrigan
Founder and Principal Tracking the Wisdom

I highly encourage everyone with an interest in any of these topics to attend and to please help spread the word about this event!

On Pride, the Jets and the election

So did the return of the Jets really help give the NDP in Manitoba a fourth term?

I'm going to argue that yes it did, indirectly. I believe the reason the NDP were able to win government again can be attribute in large part to one emotion: Pride. Or more specifically the explosion of it in the City and the Province and the NDPs ability to connect their messaging to this emotion.

Before the announcement of the return of the Jets, the PCs were enjoying a sizable lead in the polls and their message of change was connecting with voters. After twelve years of NDP government, while not overly discontent, Manitobans were feeling it was maybe time for a change in government. That it would be healthy, it was a message that was safe and connected with voters to a certain extent.

The return of the Jets didn't fundamentally change this idea that it might be time for a change but it introduced a stronger more dominant feeling in Manitoba's public consciousness: pride.

While Winnipeg's and Manitoba's pride hadn't evaporated when the Jets left, it had suffered a large set back. No doubt people had been proud of what Manitoba had accomplished over the past decade but we were never super boastful about it.

However, the return of the Jets gave us that reason to now be loudly boastful about how well we were doing. In addition, we cannot ignore the Bombers success in this fostering this feeling of pride. Just take the team's nickname: Swaggerville... It was another loud, boastful expression of pride. The entire province embraced this new boastful almost cocky demeanor. 2011 became the summer to brag about being from Manitoba.

Now the return of pride couldn't of guaranteed the re-election of the NDP but they won re-election due to the fact their messaging captured this feeling of pride. Rob Ford was able to win on connecting with the public sentiment that tax dollars weren't being used efficiently in Toronto. Just as the message of respect for the taxpayer was perfect for the time in Toronto, Pride was the word of the day for this fall in Manitoba.

Will it be a Progressive or a Conservative? Rural or Urban?

As expected, a list of potential replacements for  Hugh McFadyen is already being compiled.  There is a lot of talk about how the next leader needs to be from the Winnipeg in order to win in the City. I have to say I disagree.  What the PCs need is a leader that can connect with voters in the City not necessarily a leader from the city. There is an important difference. Someone from rural Manitoba can just as well connect with a leader from outside the city.  Automatically disqualifying someone with an address outside the perimeter is short sighted and unlikely to produce the desired results.

A second big question is whether or not the next leader will be from the "progressive" or red tory wing of the party or more from the "conservative" Blue Tory wing of the party. Given the fact that the past two leaders have been urban red tory faction, I fully expect for the rural blue tory to make a strong challenge and flex their membership muscle in this race. Also after seeing the success of the federal conservatives in the past election and the PCs inability to win with a more centrist platform in the last provincial election, I expect a shift to the right in this race for the party.

Whoever gets to be the leader after McFadyen is taking over the party in an envious position compared to when McFadyen took it over in 2006. When McFadyen took over the party the coffers were empty, the membership was at all time lows and moral was low. (Some great resources for the party's health in this area are Chirs Adam's and Thomas and Brown's books) Today while the party is demoralized after the defeat, the party has built a great fundraising machine and rebuilt it's membership base.

I fully expect someone from the rural more conservative wing of the party to make a strong challenge.In addition given the party's one member one vote system, gaining the support of rural areas will be key. While the membership base in Winnipeg has been expanded under McFadyen's leadership, when ridings such as Emerson, La Vérendrye, Winkler-Morden and the such are able to pull in 1400 memberships for nomination races they will play much more important roles than most seats in the City in the upcoming leadership race.

I expect Kelvin Goertzen, MLA for Steinbach,  to be under great pressure from supporters in the south of the province and his own riding to make a run for it. Whether he will or not it's way too early to tell but if he were to jump in, he'd have to be considered an early front runner.

Another really interesting name being tossed around from rural Manitoba is Brian Pallister. I had the chance to meet Pallister this summer and he definitely had more of the populist touch than McFdayen. Having been away from it all for a few years might have left him itching for a comeback. In my opinion he is an example from rural Manitoba who could connect with urban voters.

As for names from the City it is interesting to hear the names of Brian Bowman, former PC Youth President and recently appointed chairman of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. This Free Press story is all I know about him so it's difficult to comment. In addition the names of Heather Stefanson, MLA for Tuxedo and Michael Richards party President and Ron Schuler, MLA for St-Paul are also being thrown around.  

Also could one of Manitoba's female Conservatives MPs make the jump into the race? Shelly Glover's name is being mentioned in some lists but I think if Candice Hoeppner were to make the jump she would be a stronger contender than Glover given her rural roots and national profile.