When Lakeside MLA Trevor King reflects on 2024, he sees plenty of successes to celebrate.
He’s most proud of helping local residents and business owners to navigate government challenges to find the right supports.
“Although being in opposition can limit the power we have, my team and I have always made it a priority to point people in the right direction and connect them with the resources they need,” King said.
“While we can’t always provide the solutions, it’s incredibly rewarding when we can make a difference.”
As an example, King recalls that local business Move Mobility reached out to his office for help during the summer.
“They were struggling to get in touch with anyone from the province to keep their business in CentrePort. With the help of my office and the CentrePort Canada team, we arranged a meeting with the minister,” he said.
“Thanks to that, the province stepped in with the support they needed, and Move Mobility was able to keep their operations and jobs in Manitoba. It’s great to see companies like Move Mobility — who manufacture accessibility vehicles and want to build Type 2 ambulances right here in our province — succeed.”
He noted that some of the biggest challenges in 2024 stem from holding the new government accountable, particularly when it’s about cuts to community and municipal programs.
“The Green Team funding was slashed by $4 million, and the Building Sustainable Communities fund was reduced by $12.5 million. Other important programs like Arts, Culture, Sport and community funds were cut all together. These cuts place a heavy strain on community organizations and municipalities trying to stay sustainable,” he said.
“We’ve been advocating hard, and because of our efforts, we were able to get additional funding for Green Team, which provides summer jobs for youth in our communities. We’ll continue to push the government to keep these important programs in place.”
Since being elected, King has also been raising the issue of the planned upgrades to Provincial Road 227, which were announced in the 2023 Multi-year Infrastructure Investment Strategy.
“Unfortunately, we’ve just learned that the new government has eliminated the project. When complete, the upgrades would have improved the road connecting the Yellowhead Highway through the RM of Portage La Prairie and the RM of Woodlands to Highway 6, offering an alternative route to the Trans-Canada Highway,” he said.
“It would have made Highway 1 safer, especially in situations like the recent train derailment near Portage. We’ve started a petition and will keep fighting for this project to move forward.”
Looking ahead in 2025, King said health care remains a top priority, along with predictable funding for municipalities.
“Despite the new government’s claims of making improvements, we’re hearing from Manitobans that health care is actually getting worse. We’ll continue to hold the Kinew government accountable for their election promises to improve health care for all Manitobans. What we’ve seen so far is simply unacceptable, and we’ll keep pushing for better services,” he said.
“As the critic for Municipal Relations, I’ll keep advocating for a better, more predictable funding structure for municipalities. With our population growing, it’s important that municipalities benefit from the economic activity in the province so they can provide the infrastructure needed to support this growth.”
Now that we’ve welcomed the new year, King shares a few community goals for the year ahead.
“After the wet spring in 2024, we saw firsthand how many provincial roads, especially in Lakeside, were neglected and almost impassable. I’ve brought these issues to the attention of the relevant departments, and some of them have been addressed. Going forward, I’ll keep holding the government accountable for maintaining our provincial roads to a safer, more reliable standard,” he said.
“Another goal of mine for the new year is to advocate for better services from MPI when it comes to young driver education. It’s been a frustrating experience for parents trying to get their children registered for driver’s ed in Manitoba. MPI needs to recruit and retain more driving instructors and find a more efficient way to get young drivers the training they need. Without proper education, young drivers miss out on critical skills and may not be ready to safely challenge their licence at age 16.”
King also reminds Lakeside residents that Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is going into the new year with a leadership race. The leadership vote will be held on April 26. The candidates are Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan and Churchill business owner Wally Daudrich. Anyone who wants to participate in choosing the new leader will need to purchase a PC membership by Feb. 29, which can be done on the PC Manitoba website.
“I have chosen to support candidate Obby Khan as our leader,” King added.
“Obby has the energy, character, business sense and leadership qualities to lead our party and province into the future.”
And for the Lakeside community, King reminds everyone that his door is always open.
“It’s incredibly fulfilling to help people who don’t know where to turn for help or who to contact. We might not be able to solve every problem, but we’re definitely here to assist in any way we can,” he said.
“I look forward to spending the next few months in the constituency and encourage anyone to come meet with me — whether in my office, at your kitchen table or even on your tailgate.”
