MANITOBA VOTES 2023 – LA VERENDRYE: Keystone Party candidate wants to give back

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This article was published 29/09/2023 (1133 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Keystone Party candidate for La Verendrye says growing up with a father in the RCMP has helped shape his outlook and stoked the desire to give back and build a bright future.

Matthew Wiebe said he spent his formative years growing up in La Verendrye, and lives in Kleefeld today along with his wife and daughter.

A framer by trade, he’s no stranger to getting his hands dirty, and said he strives to make a difference.

“I’ve always been passionate about politics, about making a difference, making a change,” he said. “I believe that regardless of where I go… I believe in leaving it better than when I got there.”

Wiebe said he wants to see the province grow and prosper, and said that hasn’t been happening under recent governments.

“It’s been frustrating over the last couple of years, seeing people get in that are supposed to be speaking for you, are supposed to be representing you and nothing’s changing,” he said. “It doesn’t sit right with me knowing there are things that we can be doing.”

Wiebe said he hopes to make a difference.

“I want to be in that position to try and push some of those bettering policies forward and be a change that is positive and beneficial, not just for La Verendrye but for Manitoba as a whole.”

The Keystone Party has no party whip, which means that while there is a party platform, elected representatives would have the ability to vote the way they please.

“That’s attractive for me because I can vote for policies that means something to me and means something to my constituents regardless of whether or not, say for example Kevin Friesen (Keystone Party leader) votes for the same thing,” he said. “If elected I plan to vote for policies regardless of who promotes them. It could be a Liberal policy, it could be an NDP policy, I don’t care, as long as it’s a good policy that benefits everybody.”

La Verendrye is considered a safe PC riding by many, and has been led by Dennis Smook since 2011. In the last provincial election he earned 72.8 percent of the vote.

Prior to that it was home to the NDP’s Ron Lemieux.

Despite the reputation of being a PC safe haven, Wiebe said as he travels the riding he’s noticed people are looking for change.

“There’ s a lot of anger out there,” he said. “I feel like the biggest thing is people don’t trust the PC party to be conservative anymore. They don’t trust them to have the best interests of the people at heart.”

In fact, Wiebe said he suspects the only reason people vote PC is because they aren’t the NDP or Liberal parties.

With PC MLA Dennis Smook retiring and new PC candidate Konrad Narth running for office, Wiebe said it’s the perfect time to give him a chance, as both he and Narth are “unknowns”.

“You’re taking a leap of faith in both circumstances,” he said. “I like to think that we’re a better option because we are that unknown factor and we don’t have that track record of not failure per se but lacking.”

Wiebe chuckles when he talks about the reception he receives while door knocking, admitting he has his work cut out for him.

“The biggest response is, ‘I’ve never heard of you,’” he said. “But a lot of people are interested in what we have to say.”

The Keystone Party says lack of accountability and too much bureaucracy in health care is preventing things from improving, and Wiebe said nurses he’s talked to have plenty to say.

“They’re tired. They feel they have no support. They feel they have no proper funding,” he said. “That’s not okay.”

“They’ve busted their asses to make sure that we had proper health care and they were following all the protocols and doing what was best for people,” he added.

Wiebe said there’s an administration problem with health care.

“There’s too many people not knowing what they’re doing I places where they shouldn’t be,” he said, adding that health care administration should be streamlined.

But concerns at the door don’t just include health care but are general in nature, Wiebe said, adding he encounters anger, frustration, and resentment.

“People at the door don’t believe that what’s going on right now is working and so they want something different,” he said.

For Wiebe that includes a commitment to infrastructure, balanced budgets and small government, as well as an effort to reduce red tape and bureaucracy.

Affordability is also on their radar with the Keystone Party pledging to increase the personal exemption to $20,000 and cut the tax due on the next $40,000 in half.

“We do want to make it easier for low income families to make ends meet,” he said.

Regarding Sio Silica, Wiebe said issues like that must be studied carefully.

“I don’t think we should restrict this solely based on fear,” he said. “But I think we should take every step that we possibly can to ensure it’s going to be good, not just for now, but for future generations.”

The Keystone Party is running five candidates. In addition to Wiebe’s campaign in La Verendrye, others are running in Turtle Mountain, Swan River, Interlake-Gimli and Agassiz.

Wiebe said that means they must be willing to work with other parties to make things happen, something he said he’s willing to do.

“We’re not in there to make a majority government, we’re there to make a positive change,” he said.

And while he’d love to earn as many votes as possible, Wiebe said it’s more important to him that people get out and vote for the candidate they think is the best option.

“I believe I am the best option, but if you don’t believe that, don’t vote for me,” he said. “That’s how democracy is supposed to work.”

Wiebe is inspired by his young daughter.

“My daughter is going to grow up, she’s going to be the next generation,” he said. “If we leave her a mess then she’s got to deal with it.”

“The last thing I want to do is have to put all that extra pressure on her.”

The provincial election takes place Oct. 3. Advance polling stations are open now.