Wab Kinew brags about liquor trailer, not Manitoba made products

The Premier of Manitoba used his time and government resources this week to film a video promoting a liquor trailer in a Costco parking lot. Not a major investment announcement. Not progress on fast-tracking mining approvals. Not support for Manitoba producers. A liquor trailer. While families struggle with one of the highest inflation jumps in the country, the Premier was busy filming a parking lot promo.

Statistics Canada reported Manitoba’s inflation rose 3 percent in October. National inflation came in at 2.2 percent. Every business owner understands what that gap means. Higher costs, lower confidence and consumers cutting back wherever they can. That should have been the Premier’s focus. Instead, he was standing in front of a trailer holding up beverages that are not made in Manitoba.

Local producers saw the misplaced priorities instantly. Farmery Brewery posted on X, saying it was a “sad, missed opportunity” to support the very tax base the Premier claims to rely on. They were right. Our breweries and distillers employ Manitobans, invest in communities and pay taxes here. They have earned a Premier who champions their work, not a Premier who overlooks them to promote a pop-up selling out-of-province alcohol.

Meanwhile, nurses have grey-listed hospitals because conditions are deteriorating. Violent crime is rising across Winnipeg. Inflation is pulling money out of the pockets of families and businesses. Investors are hitting pause because government processes take too long. Yet the Premier found time to shoot a social media video that helps no one.

He even got the location wrong, proudly announcing the trailer as being in Headingley. It is not. It sits in Winnipeg. Anyone who has driven the Perimeter knows that. His staff should know that. If you are going to use the Premier’s platform to promote a parking lot pop-up, the least you can do is know which municipality you are standing in.

Sources have told the Winnipeg Sun that the directive behind the scenes was to get this trailer done at all costs. If that is true, Manitobans deserve an explanation. Why the urgency? Why the political pressure? Why funnel staff time and government resources into rushing a liquor trailer? Imagine if the Premier applied that same energy to cutting the red tape that holds back mine development. Or clearing the path for real economic growth. Or helping local businesses expand outside the province.

That last point is critical. Because despite all the Premier’s talk about supporting Manitoba industries, local breweries still face barriers when trying to sell their products outside Manitoba. Interprovincial trade barriers remain intact even after the Premier promised action. Ontario continues to limit access to Manitoba craft beer. Other provinces do the same.

Manitoba producers are fighting with one hand tied behind their backs while competing beer markets enjoy far fewer restrictions.

Kevin Selch, founder of Little Brown Jug, spelled this out clearly on LinkedIn. “Manitoba brewers are calling for reciprocal access to Ontario and other provinces. At the same time, they need a competitive beer markup regime in Manitoba that aligns with other major provinces. It’s time to modernize our approach and give Manitoba’s craft beer industry the same opportunities enjoyed elsewhere.”

He is right. Manitoba breweries are competing on an uneven playing field. They cannot fully access other markets. They face outdated markups at home. And while they push for fairness, the Premier is filming a video to help a pop-up liquor trailer sell out-of-province products in a Costco parking lot.

Manitoba has the mineral wealth the world is waiting for. We have strong potential in agriculture, manufacturing, brewing, tourism and clean energy. But success requires a government focused on real economic work. Other provinces are reducing red tape for mines, modernizing regulations and building strong trade corridors. Manitoba is watching the Premier focus more on his social media engagement than on the barriers holding businesses back.

This is what frustrates me about politics, and I say this as someone who lived it. Too many decisions are made for optics, not outcomes. Too many elected officials chase photo ops rather than solutions. Too many hours are spent staging appearances instead of fixing problems. The public sees it, and business owners see it. They feel the consequences.

This is the wrong direction at the wrong time. Inflation in Manitoba is rising faster than in the rest of the country. Hospitals are under pressure. Violent crime is up. Small businesses are fighting to survive. Local brewers are blocked from other provinces and stuck with outdated provincial rules. And our Premier is celebrating a liquor trailer.

He often says he supports local business and will stand up to American companies during trade disputes. Yet when he had the chance to promote Manitoba-made beverages, he didn’t. When offered the opportunity to use Manitoba-owned media to discuss economic development, he instead turned to social media platforms based outside this country.

Supporting local businesses is not ideological. It is common sense. It is about jobs, growth and stability. Manitoba producers, entrepreneurs, miners and manufacturers carry the province. They deserve a Premier who treats their success as a priority, not as background noise to online branding exercises.

Manitoba’s future depends on leadership rooted in action, not online image-building. A liquor trailer beside Costco will not lower inflation. It will not open hospital beds or make communities safer. It will not give our breweries access to other provinces or modernize the rules that keep them struggling at home. It will not unlock the value of our mineral resources. It will not attract a single serious investor.

What Manitobans need is a Premier who treats the province like the economic engine it can be, not a backdrop for social media content. Someone focused on results, not reactions. Someone who understands that businesses stay, grow and hire when government clears the path instead of cluttering it.

The Premier’s job is to build the economy, strengthen services and fix what is not working. If Mr. Kinew wants Manitobans to believe he can do that, he needs to prove it with real decisions, not staged videos. The province is waiting. The problems are real. The excuses are wearing thin.

Manitoba deserves leadership that shows up for the hard work. Not the camera.