Repairing ties with Manitobans key for Kelvin Goertzen in short stint as premier

Kelvin Goertzen filled in as Manitoba's premier for only a short time, but he hopes one of his principles — listening before speaking — will be remembered after his brief term is done.

As his two-month stint as premier wraps up with the governing Progressive Conservative Party electing its new leader on Saturday, Goertzen acknowledges the government should have spent more time listening to Manitobans.

"I did hear from people saying, 'You know, we would like to be more connected to the government,'" Goertzen said in a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday.

"Not that we're always going to agree, not that we're always going to be completely aligned in terms of decisions, but there's an importance to have that connection that was lost, I think, partly because of the pandemic — and then I think we have to take some responsibility as well."

The contrast between Goertzen — who vowed to be "quick to listen and slow to speak" — and Brian Pallister, the opinionated and sometimes brash premier he replaced, is stark. 

WATCH | 'Maybe we didn't do a good enough job' of listening, Goertzen says:

Pallister routinely left stakeholder meetings to his cabinet ministers. He and Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman went for long stretches without meeting. An Indigenous leader accused Pallister of talking at people, rather than having a conversation.

Goertzen wouldn't point fingers at his predecessor, suggesting stressful pandemic decisions took their toll, but it's clear he sees premiership as a collaborative job.

It was his idea to set off on a listening tour, after party MLAs decided he should serve as premier until a new leader is chosen. Within days, he was speaking with Bowman and Indigenous leaders. He's had more than 110 engagements, through meetings and public events.

"I relished it and I embraced it because I enjoy it — but I also knew that it was the best path back to reconnecting government with people," Goertzen said.

He portrayed himself as a "caretaker premier," leaving mandate-setting decisions to his replacement, but still overturned some of the decisions made under Pallister.

Under Goertzen, the province has scrapped an unpopular education reform bill, returned the role of setting electricity rates to an independent body and moved toward introducing treaty land acknowledgements at the legislative assembly.

All decisions Pallister seemed unwilling, or reluctant, to make.

Those orders, combined with Goertzen's friendly, good-humoured manner and conciliatory approach to governance, have earned the Steinbach MLA acclaim, in spite of a controversial tenure as health minister, during which he oversaw the transformation of Winnipeg's emergency room system.