About Blair Mahaffy
When were you born?
Between 1946 and 1965 (Baby Boomer)
Tell our readers a bit about your professional life. What do you do for a living? If you're an incumbent candidate, what did you do before you entered politics?
I am a software developer with an installed customer base all across Canada. Many of my earliest customers were independent pharmacies across Manitoba so I spent a lot of time visiting and working with small businesses including a number in the Lac du Bonnet riding. I also do occasional work taking trail rides out at our nearby riding stables. It is not only a great way for a desk worker to stay fit and get fresh air but I really enjoy spending time with the folks that come out for rides.
What's the highest level of education you've attained?
Bachelor's degree
How long have you lived in the constituency? If you don't currently live there, what led you to run there instead of where you live?
I have been a permanent resident at West Hawk Lake, in the east end of the constituency, since 2020. I have life-long roots here as a cottager and the lakes, rivers, and forests have always felt like home.
What is the biggest challenge facing your constituency, and how would you address it?
In talking to people around the constituency, healthcare is the primary concern for many. Most disconcerting are the stories of those who can’t get appropriate levels of care without moving to the city, and others who have sat in waiting rooms with an injury or other ailment and end up leaving because they can’t sit in discomfort for hours on end.
Apart from the obvious compassionate concerns, this makes no economic sense. People who don't have their family support systems nearby or who don’t get appropriate and timely treatment may end up in critical care. That ends up costing the system far more.
Sadly, we have become adept at putting band-aids on the healthcare system. We need to figure out how to deal constructively with upstream issues of health and wellness; dealing promptly and locally with health issues, and improving wellness, living conditions, and mental health before the issues become critical. The Green Party would create a Citizen’s Assembly made up of patients, caregivers, and professionals – doctors, nurses, pharmacists, EMT, therapists, etc – to develop ideas and advise on solutions.
Another common theme among constituents is the climate emergency and the environment. The silica sand project is of grave concern as is the health of ecosystems on the Winnipeg and Brokenhead Rivers and in the Whiteshell (and the impact of highway twinning there where environmental concerns and tourism business concerns go hand-in-hand).
Environmental assessments cannot simply be added only when public outcry becomes too large to bear. We must change our approach so solid, transparent, and engaged environmental and climate concerns become an early and integral part of our planning and approval process. I’ve also been talking to folks about green jobs, installing heat pumps, upgrading housing energy standards, regenerative agriculture, investing in agrivoltaics, and using Hydro’s expertise and capability to bring more EV charging to rural locations.
I’ve heard a considerable number of people complaining about dirty politics. The name-calling and blame and highly polarized nature of our electoral system is discouraging to many people, and I have met a few people who have said they won’t be voting any more. This is not sustainable democracy.
The Green Party is firmly committed to improving our democratic process by bringing proportional representation to Manitoba and incorporating other democracy-enhancing ideas such as Citizen’s Assemblies. Our goal is to reduce polarization and the subsequent disillusionment it breeds while bringing more voices to the table to work together to solve the difficult challenges we face.
If elected, what will be your first priority?
The Clean Environment Commission’s review of the Springfield silica sand project makes it clear that the license for this project needs to be cancelled immediately. We also need to quickly establish a participatory process for making ongoing meaningful improvements to the delivery of healthcare.
Who are your role models in politics, and why?
I briefly had the privilege of working with Green Party of Canada leader, Elizabeth May, on the Green Party of Canada’s policies on electoral reform. A very engaging person with an amazing breadth of experience in environmentalism, politics, and Parliament. She is hard working, an activist at heart, and I really appreciate how she’s not afraid to go out and stand up for her values.
Former Reform Party leader, Preston Manning, always struck me as a straight-talking person of integrity. His belief in improving democracy with the Triple E Senate and right of recall really inspired me and were the seeds of my current thinking on democratic sustainability. His sense of self-deprecation on his Air Farce appearances appealed to me, too.
Former Manitoba Liberal leader and Canadian Senator, Sharon Carstairs, was my high school Canadian history teacher. I never had any interest in politics until her very inspiring classes. The fact that they were grounded in the here-and-now, rather than some dusty history book, helped a great deal. She encouraged us to go out and volunteer with a campaign as part of our course work. I look back on the experience with gratitude and it is part of why I support lowering the voting age to 16; there is a unique opportunity, while kids are in school, to teach them, hands on, about being engaged politically.
I also have to give a nod to Winston Churchill whose "History of the English Speaking Peoples" gave me a great foundation in understanding how our Parliamentary democracy developed.
Tell us something about yourself that voters might find surprising.
Some might recognize me from my band Plain Salt which performed for many years at various coffee houses and other venues around Winnipeg and southeast Manitoba. Every once in awhile I might also get a “Hi, Akela!” from a full grown adult who was once a cub in 1st Lorette Scouts where I volunteered as a leader.
Other candidates in constituency:
Wayne Ewasko (Progressive Conservative)
Kathy Majowski (New Democratic Party)