Voters in Winnipeg’s inner city are going to the polls Tuesday in a provincial byelection.
The Point Douglas constituency has always been represented by the New Democrats and the NDP has never won less than 50 per cent of the popular vote.
Last year, when the New Democrats were swept from power to the opposition benches, they still easily retained the Point Douglas seat.
Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba, has said it would be a major upset if another party wins the seat. But the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives say the seat is in play, and both have been pouring volunteers and resources into the constituency.
The Tory government currently has 40 legislature seats compared with 12 for the NDP, three for the Liberals and one Independent.
The byelection campaign has included accusations of dirty tricks. The Tories complained to Elections Manitoba that New Democrats may have been engaging in political activities at an advance polling station – an accusation the New Democrats denied.
The NDP accused the Liberals of paying people to steal NDP campaign signs – something the Liberals denied.
The Liberals are running John Cacayuran, who used to work for a Liberal member of Parliament. The New Democrat candidate is Bernadette Smith, an educator and indigenous activist. The Tories are putting up Jodi Moskal, an electrician and former chair of theWinnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Also running are Sabrina Koehn Binesi for the Green Party, Gary Marshall for the Manitoba Party and Frank Komarniski of the Communist Party.
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