Rebel removed, ramparts razed: The top Manitoba political stories of 2024

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Peggy

At city hall and the Manitoba legislature, 2024 will be remembered for some minor caucus drama, major fiscal headaches and a decidedly anticlimactic swing of a wrecking ball.

Here are the top five political stories from within Manitoba, compiled by our political reporters:

1. The NDP kick Mark Wasyliw out of caucus

Whether you’re a newlywed couple or a newly elected provincial government, you can’t have a honeymoon without a little squabbling behind closed doors.

In the case of Manitoba’s New Democrats and Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw, the bickering behind the scenes blew up into a full-blown public conflagration.

When the dust settled, the legal profession was left insulted by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, and his NDP caucus ended up down one veteran MLA.

The woebegotten opposition Progressive Conservatives found themselves with a silver lining: a new and unexpected ally in the legislative chamber.

2. Fiscal woes beset both Broadway and city hall

Short on revenue and even shorter on policy options, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham cracked open a vintage bottle of budget elixir in an effort to balance the city’s books next year: the largest property tax hike in the Manitoba capital since 1990.

Not to be outdone, the most populist NDP government in Canada waited until the last days of the year to cancel a gas-tax holiday that contributed to a ballooning deficit. This, after overhauling a popular PC property-tax rebate in a manner that benefits the owners of less valuable properties but dings people living in bigger digs.

The end result: Higher tax burdens for residents of both Winnipeg and Manitoba are coming in 2025.

A man wearing a blue suit and tie holds up a wire-bound book. — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew holds up a copy of the 2024 budget in April. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)

3. Portage and Main reopens … with a whimper

Over the course of 45 agonizing years, the question of whether to reopen Winnipeg’s most famous pedestrian intersection has consumed six mayoral administrations, sparked no two major studies and embroiled the city in a non-binding plebiscite.

Time and time again, both Winnipeggers and their elected officials decided to keep Portage and Main closed. That is, until the deteriorating state of the underground walkway made the endless debate irrelevant.

As many an online pundit wisecracked, there is nothing more Winnipeg than making an urbanist choice only because it’s the cheaper option.

A man in a suit looks to the side while standing in a podium in front of several flags. — ‘It’s just an intersection,’ Mayor Scott Gillingham said of Portage and Main. (Justin Fraser/CBC)

4. Manitoba Hydro freezes out Jay Grewal

On a relatively mild morning at the end of January, Manitoba Hydro CEO Jay Grewal told a group of Winnipeg business leaders her Crown corporation runs the risk of running out of excess power in five years and needs to partner up with private wind producers.

A woman speaks at a podium. — Fromer Manitoba Hydro CEO Jay Grewal, during her fateful speech before the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 30. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)

Weeks later, Grewal found herself removed from power, while the provincial government is still in the midst of trying to line up new prospective partners.

As the year draws to a close, Grewal’s successor still has not explained how Hydro can spend billions building up generating capacity and fixing its aging infrastructure while keeping a handle on its debt and satisfying a political directive to freeze rates at some point in the near future.

5. Heather Stefanson’s long goodbye … and the even longer PC process of replacing her

Early this year, former Manitoba premier Heather Stefanson made almost as many goodbyes as Frodo Baggins did during the last hour of The Return of the King.

Stefanson initially announced her intention to resign on election night in 2023. She finally stepped down as Progressive Conservative leader in January and then eventually resigned her narrowly won Tuxedo seat.

The race to replace her is an even more drawn-out affair that began in July with applications and won’t wrap up until April 2025 when the PCs will choose between Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan and Churchill hotelier Wally Daudrich.

The lengthy leadership race is intended to avoid a repeat of the last contest, in 2021, which saw former MP Shelly Glover contest Stefanson’s victory in court.