Manitoba politics hits new low this week

Inside the Manitoba Legislature, every MLA can be addressed as the Honourable Member for their constituency. It is a long-standing parliamentary courtesy meant to signify integrity, seriousness, and respect for their role. Only cabinet ministers, the Premier, and sometimes the Speaker carry the title The Honourable for life, but all members are expected to uphold the standard that title implies when they take their seats. Yet what Manitobans saw again this week looked nothing like honour. It resembled a schoolyard dispute, not the conduct of people trusted to govern a province.

The Canadian Press reported that the Legislature descended into “a shambles” as MLAs from both sides exchanged insults. The Speaker himself called the behaviour disgraceful. Words like “tofu-eaters,” “misogynists,” and “criminal” were hurled across the chamber. At one point, Speaker Tom Lindsey reprimanded an MLA, calling him “not that clever,” and later apologized. All this unfolded while high school students watched from the gallery. Imagine what they took away from that experience about public service.

The hostility isn’t new. A few years ago, when Obby Khan was a cabinet minister and Wab Kinew was Leader of the Opposition, Khan accused Kinew of hitting him at an NDP event inside the Legislature. That allegation was investigated and no evidence was found to support it. But the fact that a physical accusation was made publicly between two senior political figures says enough. These are adults who are supposed to be running a province, yet the public is left watching behaviour that doesn’t resemble professionalism.

This week we saw the same pattern. The Tories brought up Kinew’s well-known criminal convictions from twenty years ago, despite the fact he received a pardon. The NDP fired back. Kinew accused Khan of being a bigot over transgender rights. NDP House Leader Nahanni Fontaine went even further and declared that the male Tory MLAs are misogynists. Fontaine has a long record of posting insults online, including her recent celebration of the death of Charlie Kirk. That behaviour isn’t what a Minister should be known for, and certainly not what taxpayers should accept from anyone carrying the title Honourable.

Then came the hunting debate. Tory MLA Rick Wowchuk called the Premier a “Pinocchio,” prompting another correction from the Speaker, who reminded members it is against the rules to accuse someone of lying. Meanwhile Kinew mocked the Conservatives as “fake hunters,” calling them “tofu-eaters” and “latte-sippers,” while praising his side as people “raised on moose meat.” It would be funny if these were comedians on a stage. They are not. These are the people entrusted to govern our province.

I sat in that chamber long enough to know this isn’t an isolated week. I witnessed the dysfunction from all sides. Insults replaced debate. Strategy replaced sincerity. The focus wasn’t on solving problems for Manitobans but on landing hits that would play well on social media. On our podcast, Inside Politics, I’ve said many times that question period is a waste of time. It is theatre, not accountability. You are handed one-liners by your party and told to deliver them. Real questions and real answers are the last thing anyone wants. The goal is simply to make the other side look bad enough to generate attention.

Even worse, the parties no longer pretend otherwise. They operate like permanent campaign machines. I have only shared this with a few close friends, but it is the truth. During the last election, I didn’t believe we were going to do many of the things we promised. I also didn’t believe the NDP would. Politicians have learned that you don’t need to explain how you will fix healthcare or how you will pay for new spending. You just need to convince voters that the other side is worse. Whoever wins the blame game wins the seat.

This isn’t leadership. It is marketing.

But Manitobans deserve something different. We deserve mature, serious people who understand that their role is not to act like activists, bullies, or social-media performers. Their job is to make decisions that affect hospitals, schools, public safety, and the economy. When an MLA enters the chamber, they should carry themselves in a way that matches the title Honourable. At the moment, that title feels like an empty label.

We need an opposition that holds government accountable, but accountability isn’t delivered through name-calling or manufactured outrage. A real opposition provides ideas. It studies budgets line by line. It offers solutions that a government can adopt or debate. If all an opposition does is shout, then it becomes part of the dysfunction. And if the government becomes focused on clapping back instead of governing, Manitobans lose twice.

The path back to honourable politics is simple to understand, though difficult to achieve. We need people who enter public life for the right reasons. We need candidates who are not activists chasing ideological battles, and not political insiders trading favours and protecting turf. We need people willing to argue ideas without trying to destroy anyone who disagrees. That is how strong policy is built. That is how healthy democracies function.

Politics at every level has become theatre, but it does not have to stay that way. Manitobans would benefit far more from leaders who can admit hard truths, make difficult decisions, and accept that public service is not about winning the next headline. It is about showing respect for the office you hold.

The Legislature will soon rise for its winter break. Maybe this is the moment for every MLA to look in the mirror and ask whether their conduct has earned the title Honourable. If the answer is no, the solution starts with behaving like adults, debating like professionals, and remembering that the province they serve deserves far better than what we saw this week.