Keystone Party shares goals in town hall

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This article was published 10/11/2022 (914 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s newest political party hosted a town hall meeting at the Friedensfeld Honey and Berry Farm on Oct. 28 to share their goals and recruit those interested in joining the party or helping form a local constituency organization.

Keystone Party leader Kevin Friesen addressed the group of close to 30 people, who filled chairs laid out in a machine shed on the property, leading what was mostly an informal question and answer period with guests.

The party became official earlier this year and according to their website has a mission “to create a stronger, united Manitoba by respecting the culture and diversity of individuals through an accountable, sustainable government, engaging the people of our province”.

Their statement of principles includes a belief that human rights tribunals be abolished, and issues dealt with by a separate section of the courts with similar rules of evidence required. It also places emphasis on individual freedoms, promises free votes for their MLAs, stresses free trade internally and externally, and pledges to resist federal intrusions into provincial sovereignty.

Property rights, limiting the government’s size and scope, and a commitment to smaller government and prudent spending with balanced budgets is also part of the platform.

Friesen told those gathered that the Keystone Party wants to empower members at the constituency level and enable them to form policy. He emphasized the grassroots nature of the party, adding the province itself has lots going for it and shouldn’t be a have-not province.

He said they’ll try to run candidates in constituencies like Steinbach, where currently PC candidates have over half the vote. That way he said vote splitting is not an issue, as it won’t result in an NDP, Liberal or Green Party candidate taking power.

He also offered words for those feeling guilty for leaving their tradition of voting PC behind.

“You haven’t left the Conservatives, they’ve left you,” he said.

Friesen told The Carillon this meeting and others being planned are part of their plan to educate the public.

“My biggest fear is that before the election happens is that we don’t have a chance to educate every Manitoban on what we are,” he said.

While Friesen concedes they are the party on the right of provincial parties, he said they don’t consider themselves extreme right.

“We feel that everybody has shifted their focus far left,” he said. “We actually see ourselves as a central party.”

Work continues in preparation for a provincial election that must happen by fall. He hinted to his supporters that they’ve heard they may need to prepare for a spring election instead.

So far, Friesen said they have three or four constituency associations in the process of being set up.

“We do have a few ideas of who those candidates will be in those areas but really that’s not up to us,” he said.

That’s because choosing a candidate is done at the constituency level with the party screening candidates to ensure they meet specific requirements.

While they have their share of supporters in Southeast Manitoba, Friesen said he doesn’t think they’re stronger in any one specific area.

“I think it’s pretty balanced throughout Southern Manitoba,” he said.

Keeping power in the party at the grassroots level is important to founders. “We’re trying to get the power to the people, not the leader,” he said.

Healing divisiveness emphasized by varying views on COVID regulations is also the goal.

“We are all Manitobans and it is important for a Manitoba political party to bring us all together,” he said. “That’s our goal.”

He’s also looking for an end to labels.

“I believe that every Manitoban, if they were treated equally, whether your are Indigenous, whether you are black, or white or Mennonite, whatever you are, we want to get back to treating you as a Manitoban, not as a certain label and then your name,” he said. “We need the genius in every single Manitoban in order for us to be successful.”

Chair of the party’s steering committee, David Andres recently retired as the reeve of Ethelbert. He said regular Manitobans have been forgotten by the “political class”.

“We are all just regular Manitobans that have come together from different parts of the province,” he said.