Provincial election campaign officially begins today

The contestants have long since hit the track, but Manitoba’s provincial election race officially begins Tuesday morning.

Premier Greg Selinger will make the short walk from the Legislature to the Lieutenant Governor’s official residence next door at 10:15 am. Selinger will ask Lt. Gov. Philip Lee to issue the writ for the election. There has been no suspense leading up to this election call, due to Manitoba’s fixed election date law: parties and voters have long known that voting day is set for October 4th.

Campaigning has been under way in one form or another for weeks. Both Selinger’s New Democratic Party and the Progressive Conservatives under Hugh McFadyen have had election ads on the air.  And the end of August was a campaign in all but name, with parties holding rallies, releasing platforms and rolling out promises.
The NDP has promised millions more dollars in health care funding aimed at recruiting and training more health professionals, while the Tories have promised a beefed-up child tax credit and home renovation tax credit. The Liberals under Dr. Jon Gerrard also kicked off their campaign with an appearance by Liberal star MP Justin Trudeau, and a promise to allow more shopping hours on Sundays.
The NDP will begin the official phase of the election campaign later Tuesday with a campaign kick off event in the Gateway Community Centre in River East: a riding the NDP lost to the PCs by a very narrow margin in 2007 and which they’d like to win back. The Tory leader will begin Tuesday door knocking in Fort Garry-Riverview: one of the south Winnipeg ridings considered key to a PC election victory. It’s a new riding created through redistribution in 2008, from parts of two former electoral districts that were both won by the NDP in 2007. The Tories also plan another campaign announcement later Tuesday. Liberal leader Jon Gerrard plans a public safety-related announcement in the north Winnipeg constituency of Burrows, which the party hopes is vulnerable to be plucked since the retirement of NDPer Doug Martindale who represented the area since 1990.
This is Selinger’s first electoral test as premier and party leader, since taking the reins of the NDP from popular former leader Gary Doer in 2009. The NDP seemed to be losing its grip on power, with polls earlier this year showing McFadyen’s Tories far ahead. But more recent polls have put the two parties in a dead heat, with the Liberals a distant third place.
The NDP has been in power in Manitoba since 1999, winning three straight majorities under Doer. At the end of the last session of the legislature, there were 36 NDP MLA’s, 18 Tories and one Liberal, with two seats vacant.
There are 57 provincial electoral districts. According to Elections Manitoba, as of Tuesday morning the PCs had the most candidates nominated at 55; the NDP had candidates in place in 52 ridings and the Liberals had someone set to run in 51 electoral districts. There were two independent candidates. Parties have until September 13th to nominate candidates. Heading into Tuesday the party standings sit at Liberals with two seats, Conservatives with nineteen seats, NDP’s with thirty six seats and there is one vacant seat. 
While election day is October 4th, voters can cast ballots earlier at advance polls from September 24th to October 1st, from 8 am to 8 pm (noon to 6 pm on Sundays). For a list of advance voting locations, visit the Elections Manitoba website:
http://www.electionsmanitoba.ca/election/voters/advance-locations.asp
Or call 945 3225, toll free 1 866 628 6837