Mr. Premier, Fix Manitoba before lecturing Americaf

Somewhere along the way, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew appears to have lost sight of what his actual job is.

In a recent video posted to social media, Kinew declared that the United States is becoming a “third-world country” and urged people to push Americans and their administration away from what he described as the subversion of Western liberal democracy. It was a striking statement, not because it revealed insight, but because it revealed distraction.

The Premier of Manitoba is not a foreign policy commentator. He is not responsible for diagnosing the political health of the United States. His responsibility is far closer to home, in a province dealing with serious, measurable problems that require constant focus and practical leadership.

Manitobans are lining up at food banks in record numbers. Emergency rooms remain overcrowded and understaffed. Patients are waiting hours, sometimes days, for care that should be immediate. Families are waiting months for home care services that were promised and funded. Seniors are stuck in hospital beds because there is nowhere else for them to go. These are not talking points. They are documented failures with real human consequences.

Against that backdrop, it is fair to ask why the premier is spending time lecturing another country.

Calling the United States a third-world country while Manitoba struggles with a visible and growing homelessness crisis is not just ironic. It is reckless. Drive through downtown Winnipeg, Brandon, or Thompson and the evidence is unavoidable. Encampments, overcrowded shelters, and people in visible distress are now part of everyday life. Social agencies are overwhelmed. Police and paramedics are responding to situations created by system failure, not criminal intent. This is not a problem hiding in the margins. It is happening in plain sight.

Before casting judgment abroad, leadership requires an honest accounting at home.

The premier is also not operating from a position of moral authority. Not even close. He dismissed protesters in his own province as “goofballs,” a remark that reflected impatience rather than respect for democratic disagreement. Members of his cabinet have used derogatory language toward men in the opposition, lowering the standard of public discourse. One minister shared a post celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk. That should have triggered immediate consequences. Instead, the premier defended her. That decision mattered. It signaled that partisan loyalty mattered more than judgment or restraint.

This is not an isolated lapse. Members of his party attended defund-the-police rallies at a time when Manitobans were increasingly concerned about crime and public safety. The premier supported the tearing down of the statue of the Queen on the legislative grounds, an act that damaged public property and disregarded shared history. Each incident on its own might be brushed aside. Taken together, they establish a pattern.

Leadership is not measured by rhetoric. It is measured by consistency, discipline, and credibility. When those are lacking, lectures directed outward carry little weight.

There is also a practical dimension the premier seems to be ignoring. Manitoba’s economy is deeply connected to the United States. Trade, manufacturing, agriculture, and investment cross the border daily. American companies employ Manitobans. Manitoba businesses rely on American markets. Publicly insulting the United States does nothing to help workers, exporters, or investors. It introduces unnecessary risk at a time when stability should be the priority.

Meanwhile, Manitobans are dealing with rising costs that are very real. On January 1, higher taxes, hydro increases, and other government-driven costs took effect. These increases show up on monthly bills, payrolls, and operating expenses. Business owners are forced to make difficult decisions. Families are cutting back. Some are falling behind. These are the pressures a premier should be addressing, not deflecting from.

Manitoba does not need more commentary. It needs results.

That means reducing emergency room wait times in a measurable way. It means holding health authorities accountable for outcomes, not excuses. It means addressing homelessness with a coordinated plan that includes housing, treatment, and enforcement, rather than slogans. It means restoring confidence in public safety by supporting police and frontline workers, not apologizing for movements that weakened them.

It also means understanding that government choices matter. Taxes matter. Energy costs matter. Regulatory burden matters. Business leaders understand this because they live it every day. Government should be held to the same standard of accountability.

This is where the case comes together.

The premier’s job is not to posture on international issues he cannot control. It is to fix what is broken where he does have authority. Manitobans are not asking for perfection. They are asking for focus, seriousness, and follow-through.

When a premier finds time to lecture another country while his own province struggles with health care failures, food insecurity, homelessness, and rising costs, people are right to question priorities. Distraction is not leadership. Commentary is not governance.

The responsibility is clear. The evidence is visible. The mandate is local.

Wab Kinew has more than enough problems on his own plate. It is time he started acting like it.