Tories likely to position party as caring with Manitoba budget focused on health care, affordability: analyst

With polling numbers trailing behind the NDP, expect Manitoba's Tories to present as a caring government with the release Tuesday of its next spending plan, one political analyst is saying.

Christopher Adams anticipates the government will use its 2022 budget to demonstrate it is looking after Manitobans from all walks of life.

"They want people to feel that senior citizens are cared for in this province. They want to know that their kids are safe going to school. They want to know that inflation is not going to be eating away at their pocketbook," said Adams, adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

The province has signalled its upcoming budget will pour money into health care and protect Manitobans against soaring prices caused by inflation.

It will be Heather Stefanson's first budget as premier. It's expected she will shy away from the austerity that influenced the yearly financial plans of her predecessor, Brian Pallister, Adams said. Stefanson has already said she may have to slow down plans to balance the budget.

"The reason is that right now the PCs have to win back many people in the province to their side," Adams said, referring to polling numbers that suggest the Tories have been bleeding support.

The pandemic sunk the Tories' fortunes among Manitobans and clearly illustrated the shortcomings of the province's health-care system.

At one point, Manitoba was forced to transfer dozens of patients out of province because its intensive care units had run out of room. 

Stefanson's government has repeatedly teased over the past week it will pump additional money into its health-care system. In particular, Stefanson said her government would prioritize slashing the growing surgery and diagnostic backlog. On Monday, she called it her government's top priority.

Over the past week, the Tories announced $15 million in new funding to support long-term care homes over the next year. The "pre-budget announcement" appears to address a criticism of last year's provincial spending plan, which included virtually no new money for personal care homes, despite such facilities being the site of the pandemic's deadliest outbreaks.

And on Monday, Finance Minister Cameron Friesen pledged more money to support immigration and settlement services.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew isn't convinced the government will deliver on what it promises.

"Every year the PCs come out with their budget and they make big announcements and then every year they keep right on with their plan to cut health care and make life worse in Manitoba," he said.

"At this point, [I'm] a little skeptical, little jaded. And I think like most Manitobans, we know we need better."