Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and his caucus spent some time out in the Pembina Valley last week.
Their stops included Winkler, Morden, and Carman, and the premier emphasized that it was very much for business as well as some pleasure.
“We’re having our team dinner with our MLAs and ministers and some key staff,” Kinew said while taking a brief break from a gathering at Rendezvous in Morden last Tuesday evening. “And we’ve been in Winkler doing our caucus retreat, doing a cabinet meeting.”
He said they make it a priority to reach out to and connect with all regions of the province.
“It’s just really important that your government gets out there where the people are and we talk to folks as we’re making the decisions of government,” said Kinew, adding it is especially important to get out into rural Manitoba.
“It’s a huge priority. Manitoba is a beautiful province with so many great communities like Morden and Winkler and all the other places we visited this week so far.
“It’s good just to be out and about, but when I think of the Pembina Valley, I also think about the economy. It’s such an engine for the economy in Manitoba, so it’s good for us to just have an ear to the ground so we know what the needs are, whether it’s infrastructure or immigration or agriculture policy … just to make sure that we keep the economy moving.”
Kinew noted there are a lot of pressures that come with the kind of growth that is happening in this region.
“We want to make sure that we’re listening to all of those things, and the best way to do that is by showing up,” he said. “It was really nice to have people over the past few days say that we’re appreciated for coming out and spending the time.”
And he noted it makes no difference that this region is so staunchly conservative politically.
“I’m the premier for all of Manitoba … I’ve got to be there for everybody,” he said. “We’ll put the jerseys back on for our respective teams at election time, but in between elections, let’s work together to build up this place that we love so much.”
